Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blogger Contest is Back!

Last year, we were in a big Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blogging Contest. We came in second place, which was incredible thanks to all of YOUR votes!

The 2013 contest started today and runs for three weeks. You can vote once every 24 hours and all it requires is a quick "click" on the vote button. There is no need to register with the website or like a page. Easy peasy!
This contest was a ton of fun last year and helped me grow the blog to the point where I can now blog more often. Circle of Moms, who hosts the contest, gives bloggers who make it into the top 25 some really awesome blogging opportunities. I would love to make it back up to the top this year!

Please take a moment to vote for us today and every day for the next three weeks. We can't do it without you!

Just a note: When you click over to vote, we are still listed as "The Ishum Quads" which was our old blog name. We had a makeover last summer, and they are working to update their records. Until then, you are in the right place if you are voting for "The Ishum Quads!"

Thank you, thank you!

Last year, we were in a big Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blogging Contest. We came in second place, which was incredible thanks to all of YOUR votes!

The 2013 contest started today and runs for three weeks. You can vote once every 24 hours and all it requires is a quick "click" on the vote button. There is no need to register with the website or like a page. Easy peasy!
This contest was a ton of fun last year and helped me grow the blog to the point where I can now blog more often. Circle of Moms, who hosts the contest, gives bloggers who make it into the top 25 some really awesome blogging opportunities. I would love to make it back up to the top this year!

Please take a moment to vote for us today and every day for the next three weeks. We can't do it without you!

Just a note: When you click over to vote, we are still listed as "The Ishum Quads" which was our old blog name. We had a makeover last summer, and they are working to update their records. Until then, you are in the right place if you are voting for "The Ishum Quads!"

Thank you, thank you!

15 Month Check-Up: We're Growing!

Thank you SO much for all of your support during the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest!

To be honest, I'm glad it's over. It felt all encompassing on my end, so I can't imagine how everyone else felt with the constant reminders. But, you all totally came through for us and we are so honored to have finished in 2nd place! The final tally had us at 6102 votes! That's an average of 291 people clicking the vote button everyday. WOW! 

You all are so awesome!

It was a tough competition the entire time between us, the McCleary Quadruplets, and The Great Umbrella Heist. All three blogs switched back and forth during the entire contest, so we really didn't know how it would all shake out in the end. Crazy exciting! Make sure you check out the other blogs if you get a chance!

And if you are new to our blog, "Welcome!"

We are thrilled to have you in our little neck of the internet! Please feel free to sign up for email updates or connect with us on Google Friend Connect! 

****************************

One of the wonderful things about the babies getting older is that the number of doctors' appointments per week have been drastically reduced. It was common to have 3, 4, or even 5 appointments per week when they first came home. It was very overwhelming!

This week was kind of strange for us. We actually had two appointments, both right across the street from the hospital that we lived in for a few months last year.


Dr. Kevin is our awesome pediatrician. He is extremely patient with the kids...and more so with me and the millions of questions and lists that I bring in each time. I actually type out a document for each baby with their feeding schedule, developmental milestones, and upcoming appointments. I've found that doing so cuts a good 30-45 minutes off of our appointment since half of his questions are answered by looking at the sheet.

Anyhow, the kids had a fantastic 15 month check-up! I snapped a few photos of them when I realized that they are probably more "kids" than "babies" at this point. *sniff*

Caleb weighed in at 20 lbs, 5 oz. He loves table food, so he's starting to put on some weight!

Abby is the littlest at 17 lbs, 6 oz. Unlike her brother, she isn't a fan of table food. But when has Abby ever liked eating in general?? I'm just glad she gained some weight!

Elijah is now 20 lbs, 9 oz. Big boy! 

Ellie is 18 lbs, 8 oz. A definite increase from her 1 lb, 14 oz weight at birth! She was totally cracking Dr. Kevin up in this photo because she was holding the plastic ear thingy (no idea what those are actually called) like a cigar. Lol!

The kids think he is an awesome doctor because he lets them play with their tongue depressor while he checks them over! :)


The major difference between this appointment and previous appointments is that they were ALL OVER the place this time! We couldn't get them to hold still on the examining table at all. I seem to be getting more tired in direct proportion to how much they are moving these days!

******************************

 The next day, we took the kids to their 15 month Developmental Follow-Up through the NICU. The therapists were finished much more quickly than we thought they would. They were blown away by all four of our kids walking...especially Ellie who they had been watching for signs of cerebral palsy. God has been extremely good to our family, and we were excited to learn that they easily meet the 12 month adjusted developmental milestones and are starting to close the gap.

So pretty much, they just let them play a bit and then called it good. We go back in six months for one last follow-up, and then we are officially done! They also told us to expect that they could very well be completely caught up by then if we stay on the same track!

 Abby with a baby doll that she found.

"I am Caleb. Hear me ROAR!"

Ellie helping Daddy adjust to a new situation...or is that the other way around? :)

My little cuddle bug, Eli, giving the camera a big smile!

Abby, Ellie, and Eli playing while the occupational therapist assesses their developmental level.

Group shot with both therapists, Daddy and most of the kids. It's hard to get them to hold still long enough to take a photo.

Even though it always takes a bit of preparation to get out of the house, these are appointments that I enjoyed. It's so nice to go see medical professionals and hear good things about our kids!

Thank you SO much for all of your support during the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest!

To be honest, I'm glad it's over. It felt all encompassing on my end, so I can't imagine how everyone else felt with the constant reminders. But, you all totally came through for us and we are so honored to have finished in 2nd place! The final tally had us at 6102 votes! That's an average of 291 people clicking the vote button everyday. WOW! 

You all are so awesome!

It was a tough competition the entire time between us, the McCleary Quadruplets, and The Great Umbrella Heist. All three blogs switched back and forth during the entire contest, so we really didn't know how it would all shake out in the end. Crazy exciting! Make sure you check out the other blogs if you get a chance!

And if you are new to our blog, "Welcome!"

We are thrilled to have you in our little neck of the internet! Please feel free to sign up for email updates or connect with us on Google Friend Connect! 

****************************

One of the wonderful things about the babies getting older is that the number of doctors' appointments per week have been drastically reduced. It was common to have 3, 4, or even 5 appointments per week when they first came home. It was very overwhelming!

This week was kind of strange for us. We actually had two appointments, both right across the street from the hospital that we lived in for a few months last year.


Dr. Kevin is our awesome pediatrician. He is extremely patient with the kids...and more so with me and the millions of questions and lists that I bring in each time. I actually type out a document for each baby with their feeding schedule, developmental milestones, and upcoming appointments. I've found that doing so cuts a good 30-45 minutes off of our appointment since half of his questions are answered by looking at the sheet.

Anyhow, the kids had a fantastic 15 month check-up! I snapped a few photos of them when I realized that they are probably more "kids" than "babies" at this point. *sniff*

Caleb weighed in at 20 lbs, 5 oz. He loves table food, so he's starting to put on some weight!

Abby is the littlest at 17 lbs, 6 oz. Unlike her brother, she isn't a fan of table food. But when has Abby ever liked eating in general?? I'm just glad she gained some weight!

Elijah is now 20 lbs, 9 oz. Big boy! 

Ellie is 18 lbs, 8 oz. A definite increase from her 1 lb, 14 oz weight at birth! She was totally cracking Dr. Kevin up in this photo because she was holding the plastic ear thingy (no idea what those are actually called) like a cigar. Lol!

The kids think he is an awesome doctor because he lets them play with their tongue depressor while he checks them over! :)


The major difference between this appointment and previous appointments is that they were ALL OVER the place this time! We couldn't get them to hold still on the examining table at all. I seem to be getting more tired in direct proportion to how much they are moving these days!

******************************

 The next day, we took the kids to their 15 month Developmental Follow-Up through the NICU. The therapists were finished much more quickly than we thought they would. They were blown away by all four of our kids walking...especially Ellie who they had been watching for signs of cerebral palsy. God has been extremely good to our family, and we were excited to learn that they easily meet the 12 month adjusted developmental milestones and are starting to close the gap.

So pretty much, they just let them play a bit and then called it good. We go back in six months for one last follow-up, and then we are officially done! They also told us to expect that they could very well be completely caught up by then if we stay on the same track!

 Abby with a baby doll that she found.

"I am Caleb. Hear me ROAR!"

Ellie helping Daddy adjust to a new situation...or is that the other way around? :)

My little cuddle bug, Eli, giving the camera a big smile!

Abby, Ellie, and Eli playing while the occupational therapist assesses their developmental level.

Group shot with both therapists, Daddy and most of the kids. It's hard to get them to hold still long enough to take a photo.

Even though it always takes a bit of preparation to get out of the house, these are appointments that I enjoyed. It's so nice to go see medical professionals and hear good things about our kids!

The End of the Line

This is it! We have reached the end of the line! Tomorrow at 3pm central time, the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest will end!

You all have been fantastic with keeping our little slice of the internet in 2nd place over the past week or so. Today we bounced down into 3rd and then back into 2nd again. Please help us hang tight just a little longer! If you could click the link and vote for us one more time (and maybe bug your coworkers and friends about it too) that would be awesome!

We are SO close! Honestly, I can't believe we've made it this far! For this little homebody, that's pretty exciting!

And then, you won't have to hear about it anymore....except, I'll probably at least let you know where we ended up since you all have worked so hard to help us get there!

Many thanks for your patience with these reminders, your daily votes, your sharing the contest with your friends, and your excitement for us as we went through the competition! We have the best supporters in so many ways!

This is it! We have reached the end of the line! Tomorrow at 3pm central time, the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest will end!

You all have been fantastic with keeping our little slice of the internet in 2nd place over the past week or so. Today we bounced down into 3rd and then back into 2nd again. Please help us hang tight just a little longer! If you could click the link and vote for us one more time (and maybe bug your coworkers and friends about it too) that would be awesome!

We are SO close! Honestly, I can't believe we've made it this far! For this little homebody, that's pretty exciting!

And then, you won't have to hear about it anymore....except, I'll probably at least let you know where we ended up since you all have worked so hard to help us get there!

Many thanks for your patience with these reminders, your daily votes, your sharing the contest with your friends, and your excitement for us as we went through the competition! We have the best supporters in so many ways!

How to Wash and Prep Bottles for Multiples

Over the past year, I've come across several moms who were trying to figure out the best way to get through all of the bottles that need to be washed and filled everyday. I know. It's a daunting, tedious task. Especially when there is no end in sight.

When the kids first came home, they were going through 7 bottles each per day. Unfortunately, we had to use (and still do) the Dr. Browns bottles because the kids had such issues with reflux and aspiration. They are awesome bottles, but they also have the most parts.

Per feeding it was: 

4 bottles

4 stems

4 vents

4 rings

4 nipples

That's 20 parts per feeding! Multiply that by 7, and we were at 140 bottle parts to wash per day. Yikes!

While it's true that we are slowly but surely coming to the end of our bottle days (hopefully within the next month or so!), I did want to make sure that I wrote this down for other moms who are looking for the streamlined version of bottle washing and prepping.

And for those of you who were just curious...here you go!

The Bottle Washing/Prepping Station

Dirty bottles go in on the left hand side of the sink and emerge with formula to the right of the crockpot.

Section 1: The Washing

Sink filled with used bottles.

First, take the bottles apart and separate each piece. Then rinse the bottles and throw those in the top rack of the dishwasher. The bottle parts all go in a big pot (in direct proportion to the number of multiples that you have). We use this giant stock pot that we borrowed from my parents when the babies came home.

See the water leftover from the last round of washing? We leave the water in the pot between washings for the pieces to soak. To wash the bottles, first drain all of the soaking water out.

Then add in dish washing liquid and the hottest tap water you can get.

Swish it all around with your hand.

And rinse each piece under hot water.

Everything goes to the right of the sink on a clean towel to drain. You can use one of those bottle drying racks, but we would need 3 of them to get everything on there. I just set them on the towel since we go through them so fast.

Tip: Switch out the towel on a fairly regular basis. It can get kinda gross from being water logged so much! I wipe down my counter with a Clorox wipe every time I change the towel to keep bacteria at bay.

Wait a second! Where is the part where you boil water or use the little bags by Medela to sanitize everything?

That is an excellent question.

I understand that typically people do sanitize everything between bottle feedings. But typically people only have one baby at a time. Here's how I see it: My kids all roll around on the same floor, chew on the same toys, sit on each other's heads (as much as I try to keep that from happening), and all use the nearest burp cloth that is handy when there is a spit up without regard to who used it last. Germs are definitely shared at our house which is why we try so hard to keep the germs that are coming into the house at bay. So we do the dunk and swish method to keep up with all of the bottles and once in a long while I run them through boiling water for good measure. Probably not the most sterile way to go about it, but sometimes we have to adjust for reality.

Section 2: The Prepping

Directly to the right of the draining towel is our bottle prepping area. We keep a crockpot on "warm" all day to use for mass bottle warming. Pop the bottles in there about 15 minutes before feeding time, and you are good to go! We also keep daily medications and vitamins for the kids here along with their tubs of multigrain and rice cereal. We also keep Abby's miralax here. Poor thing!

A nice group of clean bottles and a mixing pitcher ready to be used! Since we are down to three bottle feedings a day, I'm only filling 12 bottles. Obviously, if you are doing more, make more! Keep in mind that powdered formula is good for 24 hours after being mixed and plan accordingly.

Another view of the bottle prepping station. Notice that the extra towel is there to keep the mixing mess to a minimum. Just shake it over the sink after making bottles to dispose of any spilled powder.

12 filled bottles ready to go in the refrigerator! The hardest part about this is making sure you have the correct bottle for the correct baby at the correct time. I fill all of one baby's bottles before moving on to the next. Then I line them up on the counter in order, or put them away in the refrigerator as they are made.

We designated the top shelf of our refrigerator for bottles and extra formula for cereal. Below each bottle, I taped the name of the baby who gets that row. I did this way back when they first came home so that helpers would know exactly which one belonged to each baby. Grab one from each row, pop in the crockpot 15 minutes before feeding (times may vary by crockpot), assemble the vent, stem, ring, and nipple along with any thickeners, extra formula for calories, or vitamins, and you are good to go!

Do all of this a few times and it becomes second nature. I'm pretty sure that Sean and I can do it in our sleep now. We often tag team the bottle prepping with one of us filling the pitcher and measuring out the powdered formula and the other pouring the bottles.

I would love to hear how our method works for you if you try it! Please leave a comment if you do give it a whirl...or swish! :)

***********************

In other news, we are down to our last three days of the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest!

Don't forget that you can vote once every 24 hours until the contest ends on Wednesday at 3pm central time. Right now we are in second place, and we would love your vote! And thanks for putting up with the reminders for the last couple of weeks. It's been quite the race!

Over the past year, I've come across several moms who were trying to figure out the best way to get through all of the bottles that need to be washed and filled everyday. I know. It's a daunting, tedious task. Especially when there is no end in sight.

When the kids first came home, they were going through 7 bottles each per day. Unfortunately, we had to use (and still do) the Dr. Browns bottles because the kids had such issues with reflux and aspiration. They are awesome bottles, but they also have the most parts.

Per feeding it was: 

4 bottles

4 stems

4 vents

4 rings

4 nipples

That's 20 parts per feeding! Multiply that by 7, and we were at 140 bottle parts to wash per day. Yikes!

While it's true that we are slowly but surely coming to the end of our bottle days (hopefully within the next month or so!), I did want to make sure that I wrote this down for other moms who are looking for the streamlined version of bottle washing and prepping.

And for those of you who were just curious...here you go!

The Bottle Washing/Prepping Station

Dirty bottles go in on the left hand side of the sink and emerge with formula to the right of the crockpot.

Section 1: The Washing

Sink filled with used bottles.

First, take the bottles apart and separate each piece. Then rinse the bottles and throw those in the top rack of the dishwasher. The bottle parts all go in a big pot (in direct proportion to the number of multiples that you have). We use this giant stock pot that we borrowed from my parents when the babies came home.

See the water leftover from the last round of washing? We leave the water in the pot between washings for the pieces to soak. To wash the bottles, first drain all of the soaking water out.

Then add in dish washing liquid and the hottest tap water you can get.

Swish it all around with your hand.

And rinse each piece under hot water.

Everything goes to the right of the sink on a clean towel to drain. You can use one of those bottle drying racks, but we would need 3 of them to get everything on there. I just set them on the towel since we go through them so fast.

Tip: Switch out the towel on a fairly regular basis. It can get kinda gross from being water logged so much! I wipe down my counter with a Clorox wipe every time I change the towel to keep bacteria at bay.

Wait a second! Where is the part where you boil water or use the little bags by Medela to sanitize everything?

That is an excellent question.

I understand that typically people do sanitize everything between bottle feedings. But typically people only have one baby at a time. Here's how I see it: My kids all roll around on the same floor, chew on the same toys, sit on each other's heads (as much as I try to keep that from happening), and all use the nearest burp cloth that is handy when there is a spit up without regard to who used it last. Germs are definitely shared at our house which is why we try so hard to keep the germs that are coming into the house at bay. So we do the dunk and swish method to keep up with all of the bottles and once in a long while I run them through boiling water for good measure. Probably not the most sterile way to go about it, but sometimes we have to adjust for reality.

Section 2: The Prepping

Directly to the right of the draining towel is our bottle prepping area. We keep a crockpot on "warm" all day to use for mass bottle warming. Pop the bottles in there about 15 minutes before feeding time, and you are good to go! We also keep daily medications and vitamins for the kids here along with their tubs of multigrain and rice cereal. We also keep Abby's miralax here. Poor thing!

A nice group of clean bottles and a mixing pitcher ready to be used! Since we are down to three bottle feedings a day, I'm only filling 12 bottles. Obviously, if you are doing more, make more! Keep in mind that powdered formula is good for 24 hours after being mixed and plan accordingly.

Another view of the bottle prepping station. Notice that the extra towel is there to keep the mixing mess to a minimum. Just shake it over the sink after making bottles to dispose of any spilled powder.

12 filled bottles ready to go in the refrigerator! The hardest part about this is making sure you have the correct bottle for the correct baby at the correct time. I fill all of one baby's bottles before moving on to the next. Then I line them up on the counter in order, or put them away in the refrigerator as they are made.

We designated the top shelf of our refrigerator for bottles and extra formula for cereal. Below each bottle, I taped the name of the baby who gets that row. I did this way back when they first came home so that helpers would know exactly which one belonged to each baby. Grab one from each row, pop in the crockpot 15 minutes before feeding (times may vary by crockpot), assemble the vent, stem, ring, and nipple along with any thickeners, extra formula for calories, or vitamins, and you are good to go!

Do all of this a few times and it becomes second nature. I'm pretty sure that Sean and I can do it in our sleep now. We often tag team the bottle prepping with one of us filling the pitcher and measuring out the powdered formula and the other pouring the bottles.

I would love to hear how our method works for you if you try it! Please leave a comment if you do give it a whirl...or swish! :)

***********************

In other news, we are down to our last three days of the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest!

Don't forget that you can vote once every 24 hours until the contest ends on Wednesday at 3pm central time. Right now we are in second place, and we would love your vote! And thanks for putting up with the reminders for the last couple of weeks. It's been quite the race!

"Finally Home" First Year Anniversary

Today is a big day for The Ishum Family!

One year ago today, we brought home our last baby from the hospital and finally put our family together!

Elijah came home May 15th

Abby and Ellie came on May 17th

Caleb came home on May 19th

What is extra neat is that the day our last baby came home was also my due date!

It was such a monumental day for us that I can still remember what we ate for dinner that night (Thanks again for the Chicken Enchiladas, Nancy!) Sean stayed with the other three babies, with his sister, Ruby, and her husband playing back-up, while I drove to the hospital to get Caleb. I went to get him with such a weird combination of nervousness, sadness about leaving our nurse friends, sleep deprivation, and adrenaline.

This was it! This was the moment that we were suddenly in charge of four little preemies with special needs. Scary, crazy, amazing, insane!

Today marks one year of living this incredible quad life 100% hands on (not that being pregnant and sitting in the NICU wasn't hands on, but you know what I mean.). 

I was looking through some old photos from the first few days that they were all home together. They have gotten so BIG!

All home together!

             Elijah, Caleb, and Daddy                                          Abby and Ellie

Caleb's first at home bath

Fun fact: This was taken right as he peed on me. That was followed about 20 seconds later by pooping in the water. My friend took the photo mid-squeal from me!

Daddy and Elijah hanging in the kitchen

Fun fact: Elijah is still on his monitor in this photo. Daddy unplugged the monitor from the wall and carried it around with them.

A very sleep-deprived Mommy, Ellie, and Abby

 Fun fact: Ellie's ear is taped flat because it kept folding over. The cartilage was extremely soft and we were worried she would end up looking like a puppy with a floppy ear. Both are on monitors and Abby is on an oxygen tank. Thank goodness we don't have to carry all of that medical equipment around with us anymore!

Thanks again for joining us on our journey! It's so exciting to see where we have come from!

*************************

We are only FOUR days from the end of the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest! It ends this Wednesday, May 23rd at 3pm central. We are in 2nd place and currently 300 votes behind 1st place. But 3rd place is only 50 votes behind us! At this point, really anyone could win. Could you help us out by clicking the yellow "Thumbs Up" button next to our name once every 24 hours for the next four days? Even better if you could dig up a few extra votes for us by asking your friends to vote. :)

You all are the best! Thank you SO much for supporting us!

Today is a big day for The Ishum Family!

One year ago today, we brought home our last baby from the hospital and finally put our family together!

Elijah came home May 15th

Abby and Ellie came on May 17th

Caleb came home on May 19th

What is extra neat is that the day our last baby came home was also my due date!

It was such a monumental day for us that I can still remember what we ate for dinner that night (Thanks again for the Chicken Enchiladas, Nancy!) Sean stayed with the other three babies, with his sister, Ruby, and her husband playing back-up, while I drove to the hospital to get Caleb. I went to get him with such a weird combination of nervousness, sadness about leaving our nurse friends, sleep deprivation, and adrenaline.

This was it! This was the moment that we were suddenly in charge of four little preemies with special needs. Scary, crazy, amazing, insane!

Today marks one year of living this incredible quad life 100% hands on (not that being pregnant and sitting in the NICU wasn't hands on, but you know what I mean.). 

I was looking through some old photos from the first few days that they were all home together. They have gotten so BIG!

All home together!

             Elijah, Caleb, and Daddy                                          Abby and Ellie

Caleb's first at home bath

Fun fact: This was taken right as he peed on me. That was followed about 20 seconds later by pooping in the water. My friend took the photo mid-squeal from me!

Daddy and Elijah hanging in the kitchen

Fun fact: Elijah is still on his monitor in this photo. Daddy unplugged the monitor from the wall and carried it around with them.

A very sleep-deprived Mommy, Ellie, and Abby

 Fun fact: Ellie's ear is taped flat because it kept folding over. The cartilage was extremely soft and we were worried she would end up looking like a puppy with a floppy ear. Both are on monitors and Abby is on an oxygen tank. Thank goodness we don't have to carry all of that medical equipment around with us anymore!

Thanks again for joining us on our journey! It's so exciting to see where we have come from!

*************************

We are only FOUR days from the end of the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest! It ends this Wednesday, May 23rd at 3pm central. We are in 2nd place and currently 300 votes behind 1st place. But 3rd place is only 50 votes behind us! At this point, really anyone could win. Could you help us out by clicking the yellow "Thumbs Up" button next to our name once every 24 hours for the next four days? Even better if you could dig up a few extra votes for us by asking your friends to vote. :)

You all are the best! Thank you SO much for supporting us!

The Next Milestone: Cups!

A few weeks ago, we introduced cups to the babies. They thought they were awesome toys. Not exactly what I had in mind. They couldn't figure out how to get milk out and pretty much just used them as new things to roll around on the floor. I tried a couple of different types of cups, but nothing seemed to click.

So we took a break.

This is by far the most frustrating developmental milestone that I've had as a mother. More frustrating than crawling, more frustrating than walking, more frustrating than trying to get them to turn their heads both ways evenly, more frustrating than bottle feeding Abby...no wait. That's not true. Bottle feeding Abby at the beginning was more frustrating. But barely so.

I eventually asked the babies' occupational and physical therapists for help teaching them how to suck out of a straw. They tried the different bottles with them, but nothing worked. Finally, Jessica, the physical therapist, brought over a Playtex First Sipster Cup. It's geared for 4 month old babies and has a little part of the cup that you can push and force milk up the straw and into their mouths. It's supposed to help them understand that there is liquid in the cup, and they can get it out of the straw. And, I was really excited to see that they make them in each of their colors!

I'm pleased to announce that after several weeks of practicing, we have managed to learn how to drink out of cups! It's still a little hit and miss, but overall, we are seeing some success!

And because of that, I got to drop a bottle feeding yesterday and replace it with a snack: milk and graham crackers!

Caleb sucked his milk right down, almost finishing the entire thing! He was incredibly happy with this change of events!

Caleb: "Mom! This is a good idea! Much better than playing outside or going to church!"

Ever my last baby to be okay with changes to the feeding plan, Abby isn't as fond of this idea. She keeps throwing the cup off of her tray or behind her seat. I'm happy that she finally did drink a bit though.

Abby: "Hmm.....I don't like it when people mess with my feeding. I think I'll just concentrate on my cracker."

What a ham! Elijah keeps getting mixed up about where exactly the milk come from. He is definitely all about trying to find the magic straw though.

Elijah: "Does the milk come out of here? How about here? Or how about here? etc."

Like usual, our little runt likes to prove that she can keep up with everyone else. During snack time, she was right on it!

Ellie: "Check this out. I'm one handing it!"

And because descriptions and photos just don't do it justice, check out this short video of snack time. It's so QUIET! I love it!

******************

One Week Left to Vote!!

A few weeks ago, we introduced cups to the babies. They thought they were awesome toys. Not exactly what I had in mind. They couldn't figure out how to get milk out and pretty much just used them as new things to roll around on the floor. I tried a couple of different types of cups, but nothing seemed to click.

So we took a break.

This is by far the most frustrating developmental milestone that I've had as a mother. More frustrating than crawling, more frustrating than walking, more frustrating than trying to get them to turn their heads both ways evenly, more frustrating than bottle feeding Abby...no wait. That's not true. Bottle feeding Abby at the beginning was more frustrating. But barely so.

I eventually asked the babies' occupational and physical therapists for help teaching them how to suck out of a straw. They tried the different bottles with them, but nothing worked. Finally, Jessica, the physical therapist, brought over a Playtex First Sipster Cup. It's geared for 4 month old babies and has a little part of the cup that you can push and force milk up the straw and into their mouths. It's supposed to help them understand that there is liquid in the cup, and they can get it out of the straw. And, I was really excited to see that they make them in each of their colors!

I'm pleased to announce that after several weeks of practicing, we have managed to learn how to drink out of cups! It's still a little hit and miss, but overall, we are seeing some success!

And because of that, I got to drop a bottle feeding yesterday and replace it with a snack: milk and graham crackers!

Caleb sucked his milk right down, almost finishing the entire thing! He was incredibly happy with this change of events!

Caleb: "Mom! This is a good idea! Much better than playing outside or going to church!"

Ever my last baby to be okay with changes to the feeding plan, Abby isn't as fond of this idea. She keeps throwing the cup off of her tray or behind her seat. I'm happy that she finally did drink a bit though.

Abby: "Hmm.....I don't like it when people mess with my feeding. I think I'll just concentrate on my cracker."

What a ham! Elijah keeps getting mixed up about where exactly the milk come from. He is definitely all about trying to find the magic straw though.

Elijah: "Does the milk come out of here? How about here? Or how about here? etc."

Like usual, our little runt likes to prove that she can keep up with everyone else. During snack time, she was right on it!

Ellie: "Check this out. I'm one handing it!"

And because descriptions and photos just don't do it justice, check out this short video of snack time. It's so QUIET! I love it!

******************

One Week Left to Vote!!

Blessing

Yesterday, we made it out to church again! This time we went to Blue Ridge Bible Church. The majority of the kind people who helped us when the babies came home go to this church, so it was wonderful to get to see them!

I remembered my camera this time, but since the babies knew the people in the nursery, I actually got to attend the service with Sean! It was so exciting to get to do that after so long! But that meant that I wasn't back there to take pictures of them. Once we got back to the nursery to pick the kids up, they were way past their nap time...and there were doughnuts in the fellowship hall (doughnuts and oreo cookies are on the same level for me)...so I prioritized, and no pictures were taken. :( Which means, we will just have to go back!

We also managed to make it on the day that my niece, Alyvia, was dedicated (along with the babies of two other friends!) My brother, Mike, wrote the most beautiful poem to read at her dedication that totally turned me into a blubbering mess. I want all of the same things for our kids, so with his permission, I thought I'd put it here for you to enjoy as well!

Alyvia's Blessing

written by Michael Stolberg

Beautiful, tiny, precious Alyvia,

we can’t believe you are almost one,

We’ve already received a lifetime of blessings,

but everyone keeps saying that now comes the fun.

Ages two and three seem a little bit terrifying,

but through the terrible toddler days you’ll continue to grow,

We pray that we give Godly guidance graciously

as we train you up in the way you should go.

Years Four, Five and Six are truly important

as you learn to make more and more decisions on your own,

And we hope

                 and pray

                        for that incredible day

when you make your decision for your eternal home.

Next comes ages Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten,

we can’t wait to watch your uniqueness really start to shine.

We commit now to help you develop your talents for the Lord,

as you continue to branch out from the strength of His vine.

Those next two years, eleven and twelve,

are crucial as they always seem to land right in between,

All the fun that is growing up

and that crazy moment when you become a teen.

We will pray without ceasing as you fall and fly

                   and laugh and cry

                            and make and even lose

                                      some of your very best friends,

And as hard as it will be to watch you struggle as you grow,

                    we pray you’ll always know

                             that He is there to reach down and pick you up again.

And even on that far off day

when we let you go and you say I do.

We’ll continue to pray from a little farther away

that God will continue to shower His blessings on you.

Alyvia,

this life is a giant adventure full of every emotion but it’s worth the race.

May God give you protection...

                     and strength...

                            and humility...

                                   and love...

                                          and peace...

                                                 and grace.

*****************************

Earlier today, we were in 1st place by 100 votes. Now we are 250 votes behind. What a race! 9 days left to vote! Thanks for clicking the "thumbs up" once every 24 hours!

Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest

(By the way, does anyone know how to put the button in the posts instead of putting the link? I just think it looks way cooler...because, you know, I'm so cool to begin with. Lol!)

Yesterday, we made it out to church again! This time we went to Blue Ridge Bible Church. The majority of the kind people who helped us when the babies came home go to this church, so it was wonderful to get to see them!

I remembered my camera this time, but since the babies knew the people in the nursery, I actually got to attend the service with Sean! It was so exciting to get to do that after so long! But that meant that I wasn't back there to take pictures of them. Once we got back to the nursery to pick the kids up, they were way past their nap time...and there were doughnuts in the fellowship hall (doughnuts and oreo cookies are on the same level for me)...so I prioritized, and no pictures were taken. :( Which means, we will just have to go back!

We also managed to make it on the day that my niece, Alyvia, was dedicated (along with the babies of two other friends!) My brother, Mike, wrote the most beautiful poem to read at her dedication that totally turned me into a blubbering mess. I want all of the same things for our kids, so with his permission, I thought I'd put it here for you to enjoy as well!

Alyvia's Blessing

written by Michael Stolberg

Beautiful, tiny, precious Alyvia,

we can’t believe you are almost one,

We’ve already received a lifetime of blessings,

but everyone keeps saying that now comes the fun.

Ages two and three seem a little bit terrifying,

but through the terrible toddler days you’ll continue to grow,

We pray that we give Godly guidance graciously

as we train you up in the way you should go.

Years Four, Five and Six are truly important

as you learn to make more and more decisions on your own,

And we hope

                 and pray

                        for that incredible day

when you make your decision for your eternal home.

Next comes ages Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten,

we can’t wait to watch your uniqueness really start to shine.

We commit now to help you develop your talents for the Lord,

as you continue to branch out from the strength of His vine.

Those next two years, eleven and twelve,

are crucial as they always seem to land right in between,

All the fun that is growing up

and that crazy moment when you become a teen.

We will pray without ceasing as you fall and fly

                   and laugh and cry

                            and make and even lose

                                      some of your very best friends,

And as hard as it will be to watch you struggle as you grow,

                    we pray you’ll always know

                             that He is there to reach down and pick you up again.

And even on that far off day

when we let you go and you say I do.

We’ll continue to pray from a little farther away

that God will continue to shower His blessings on you.

Alyvia,

this life is a giant adventure full of every emotion but it’s worth the race.

May God give you protection...

                     and strength...

                            and humility...

                                   and love...

                                          and peace...

                                                 and grace.

*****************************

Earlier today, we were in 1st place by 100 votes. Now we are 250 votes behind. What a race! 9 days left to vote! Thanks for clicking the "thumbs up" once every 24 hours!

Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest

(By the way, does anyone know how to put the button in the posts instead of putting the link? I just think it looks way cooler...because, you know, I'm so cool to begin with. Lol!)

Mommy Must Be Tired

I must be tired.

I try to get some time with my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD a few times a week before the kids get up for the day. It's really not much fun, so I've figured out how to run the DVD on my laptop and play another TV show through Hulu on the television. Oh yes, it's quite humorous to see me jumping around and hearing a drama in the background (since I put the workout DVD on mute). I'd probably see more progress if I quit eating candy, but at least I've laid off of the oreos.

Anyhow, yesterday, it just didn't happen. I was tired, and I overslept. I still got up in time to dress the kids and feed them breakfast before Miss Debbie showed up for therapy, so I was riding pretty high on my success.

Then, about halfway through therapy, I noticed this:

Elijah, Miss Debbie, and Ellie

Can you tell what is wrong with this photo of Elijah and Ellie?? LOL! Poor Eli! I hope he isn't scarred for life!

*************************

And I thought you all might enjoy this. Ellie learned a new trick recently. In fact, all of the babies are doing this now, but with the cysts on Ellie's brain, the threat of cerebral palsy, and her bowed legs and curled feet, we weren't sure how long it would take her to learn how to do this....or even if she would be able to figure it out at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DtadN3enng&feature=youtu.be

All I can say is: Praise God! :)

***********************

And this is going to be a tough competition right to the very end of the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest. We made it to first place yesterday, but now we are back to second place. We need every single vote, every single day in order to win on May 23rd. And then I promise to quit posting about it! Thank you so much for your support!

http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/Top-25-Moms-Of-Multiples-2012

I've been asked several times what we win if we get first place. This is taken directly from the rules for the contest on the Circle of Moms website:

"What do Top 25 winners receive?We give our six million moms direct access to Top 25 program participants. The Top 25 winners of each list are featured on The RoundUp, Circle of Mom’s editorial channel. The feature includes a short interview, favorite posts, and a photo of each Top 25 winner. The Top 25 winners also receive a badge for their blog that links to their interview on Circle of Moms. Top 25 participants may also be invited to participate in Circle of Moms’ expert Q&A and The RoundUp editorial platform."

So why are we doing this if there are no tangible awards? Well, long story short, I really enjoy writing. That's what my college degree is in. My writing allows me to take a minute to be Rebecca and not just a "quad mom" (even though I am writing about being a quad mom!). It's actually a beautiful blend of my pre-babies and post-babies life!

I can see the potential for my writing reaching more people or for more writing opportunities to pop up for me. Or maybe it won't, and it will just be a fun thing that we won. :)

Regardless, thank you so so SO much for helping us out by voting!

I must be tired.

I try to get some time with my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD a few times a week before the kids get up for the day. It's really not much fun, so I've figured out how to run the DVD on my laptop and play another TV show through Hulu on the television. Oh yes, it's quite humorous to see me jumping around and hearing a drama in the background (since I put the workout DVD on mute). I'd probably see more progress if I quit eating candy, but at least I've laid off of the oreos.

Anyhow, yesterday, it just didn't happen. I was tired, and I overslept. I still got up in time to dress the kids and feed them breakfast before Miss Debbie showed up for therapy, so I was riding pretty high on my success.

Then, about halfway through therapy, I noticed this:

Elijah, Miss Debbie, and Ellie

Can you tell what is wrong with this photo of Elijah and Ellie?? LOL! Poor Eli! I hope he isn't scarred for life!

*************************

And I thought you all might enjoy this. Ellie learned a new trick recently. In fact, all of the babies are doing this now, but with the cysts on Ellie's brain, the threat of cerebral palsy, and her bowed legs and curled feet, we weren't sure how long it would take her to learn how to do this....or even if she would be able to figure it out at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DtadN3enng&feature=youtu.be

All I can say is: Praise God! :)

***********************

And this is going to be a tough competition right to the very end of the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest. We made it to first place yesterday, but now we are back to second place. We need every single vote, every single day in order to win on May 23rd. And then I promise to quit posting about it! Thank you so much for your support!

http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/Top-25-Moms-Of-Multiples-2012

I've been asked several times what we win if we get first place. This is taken directly from the rules for the contest on the Circle of Moms website:

"What do Top 25 winners receive?We give our six million moms direct access to Top 25 program participants. The Top 25 winners of each list are featured on The RoundUp, Circle of Mom’s editorial channel. The feature includes a short interview, favorite posts, and a photo of each Top 25 winner. The Top 25 winners also receive a badge for their blog that links to their interview on Circle of Moms. Top 25 participants may also be invited to participate in Circle of Moms’ expert Q&A and The RoundUp editorial platform."

So why are we doing this if there are no tangible awards? Well, long story short, I really enjoy writing. That's what my college degree is in. My writing allows me to take a minute to be Rebecca and not just a "quad mom" (even though I am writing about being a quad mom!). It's actually a beautiful blend of my pre-babies and post-babies life!

I can see the potential for my writing reaching more people or for more writing opportunities to pop up for me. Or maybe it won't, and it will just be a fun thing that we won. :)

Regardless, thank you so so SO much for helping us out by voting!

2nd Annual Emergency Room Date

I'm seeing a trend here that I'm not a big fan of.

Friday morning, I ran out to get my haircut. I was SO excited! It was the third attempt I've made at getting my hair cut since January, and I was in desperate need of it! To boot, we had a date night scheduled that night, so I asked Lauren (if you need an amazing stylist, email me for her info!) to curl my hair instead of flat ironing it. Gotta look cute if I'm going out with my hot husband!

Sean, meanwhile, had taken the day off of work to prepare for a moment that he has been counting down to for two years: Avengers the movie! In preparation, we have spent the last two weeks re-watching all of the Marvel Superhero movies. Sean pre-bought tickets online to ensure we could get in to the showing we wanted to see. We asked our friends who were staying with our kids to come early so that we could spend at least an hour standing in line for the best seats (can't be too careful with big blockbusters like this!). And we turned it into a double date with Wendell and Sarah, a couple we just adore! They, in turn, had found a babysitter for their daughter. This was a well-planned, finely crafted scenario to ensure that we would have one of the best date nights in recent memory.

But first, I had a hair appointment, and Sean had to get stuff done around the house.

After my appointment, I got in the car and checked my text messages before heading out. I had one from Sean that said,

"What is the cure for pouring boiling water over your hand? Cold water?"

BOILING water?!?!

Long story short, I ended up taking Sean to the emergency room because the burn was so bad. I seem to remember another ER date with him almost exactly a year ago. Hmmm...

We had googled earlier in the week for cheap ways to kill a lot of weeds. The first idea we came across was to dump boiling water on them. Sean decided to experiment with that while I was gone. Unfortunately, it spilled.

Two pain shots and a handful of percocet later, he was flat out.

He still tried to pull himself together enough to go see the movie a couple of hours later, but he almost passed out instead. Poor guy!

Okay, I'll be honest for a minute. Yes, I was looking forward to the movie too (although not nearly to the extent that Sean was). I was also looking forward to hanging out with Wendell and Sarah. But more than all of that, I was looking forward to having the evening off from my motherhood duties. We haven't been out in a couple of months, so this was a big deal to me. And my hair was curly too! It's never curly because I don't have time to do it! Arg! It's true. I almost cried, but held it back because obviously Sean was in too much pain. I guess the ER visit would have to suffice as our date.

I called Sarah to tell her that we were stuck for the evening and let her know that they could swing by for their movie tickets. She said that she would be by in a bit, and I prepared to nurse a hurt husband and take care of four little people for the rest of the evening.

But fifteen minutes later, my phone rang. Sarah said they wanted to skip the movie too, come over to visit, and bring dinner with them. What?!?!

Another twenty minutes passed and Wendell, Sarah, and their brand new daughter showed up with pizza. After dinner, Sarah helped me get the kids ready for bed and after they went down, we popped in The Three Amigos as our replacement movie.

I can't even begin to describe how encouraging their visit was to me! I'm sure Sean would agree, but he was a little out of it. :)


All that to say, we learned some very important lessons:

- Not everything you read on the internet is a great idea. Just because it says that dumping boiling water on weeds kills them, does not necessarily mean you should go do it.

- Dumping boiling water over weeds does in fact work! It's the most expensive bare one foot by two foot section of our yard (ER visits aren't cheap!)

- When boiling water, use the small spaghetti pot instead of the 10 gallon stock pot.

-Amazing friends are hard to come by. Hang on to them!

Elijah helping Daddy model his wrapped hand.

And other than his wrapped hand being in this photo, it really has nothing to do with this post, but it makes me laugh anyway!

Sean and my brother, Mike, participating in some friendly rivalry! I love that they are each wearing flip flops and plaid shorts with their Cardinals/Royals gear!

*************

Also, thank you for continuing to vote for us in the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest! The contest is open for only 16 more days, and then I promise that I'll quit bugging you! We are currently in 3rd place but the distance between us and second place is increasing. Don't forget that you can vote once every 24 hours! We need your help! http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/Top-25-Moms-Of-Multiples-2012

I'm seeing a trend here that I'm not a big fan of.

Friday morning, I ran out to get my haircut. I was SO excited! It was the third attempt I've made at getting my hair cut since January, and I was in desperate need of it! To boot, we had a date night scheduled that night, so I asked Lauren (if you need an amazing stylist, email me for her info!) to curl my hair instead of flat ironing it. Gotta look cute if I'm going out with my hot husband!

Sean, meanwhile, had taken the day off of work to prepare for a moment that he has been counting down to for two years: Avengers the movie! In preparation, we have spent the last two weeks re-watching all of the Marvel Superhero movies. Sean pre-bought tickets online to ensure we could get in to the showing we wanted to see. We asked our friends who were staying with our kids to come early so that we could spend at least an hour standing in line for the best seats (can't be too careful with big blockbusters like this!). And we turned it into a double date with Wendell and Sarah, a couple we just adore! They, in turn, had found a babysitter for their daughter. This was a well-planned, finely crafted scenario to ensure that we would have one of the best date nights in recent memory.

But first, I had a hair appointment, and Sean had to get stuff done around the house.

After my appointment, I got in the car and checked my text messages before heading out. I had one from Sean that said,

"What is the cure for pouring boiling water over your hand? Cold water?"

BOILING water?!?!

Long story short, I ended up taking Sean to the emergency room because the burn was so bad. I seem to remember another ER date with him almost exactly a year ago. Hmmm...

We had googled earlier in the week for cheap ways to kill a lot of weeds. The first idea we came across was to dump boiling water on them. Sean decided to experiment with that while I was gone. Unfortunately, it spilled.

Two pain shots and a handful of percocet later, he was flat out.

He still tried to pull himself together enough to go see the movie a couple of hours later, but he almost passed out instead. Poor guy!

Okay, I'll be honest for a minute. Yes, I was looking forward to the movie too (although not nearly to the extent that Sean was). I was also looking forward to hanging out with Wendell and Sarah. But more than all of that, I was looking forward to having the evening off from my motherhood duties. We haven't been out in a couple of months, so this was a big deal to me. And my hair was curly too! It's never curly because I don't have time to do it! Arg! It's true. I almost cried, but held it back because obviously Sean was in too much pain. I guess the ER visit would have to suffice as our date.

I called Sarah to tell her that we were stuck for the evening and let her know that they could swing by for their movie tickets. She said that she would be by in a bit, and I prepared to nurse a hurt husband and take care of four little people for the rest of the evening.

But fifteen minutes later, my phone rang. Sarah said they wanted to skip the movie too, come over to visit, and bring dinner with them. What?!?!

Another twenty minutes passed and Wendell, Sarah, and their brand new daughter showed up with pizza. After dinner, Sarah helped me get the kids ready for bed and after they went down, we popped in The Three Amigos as our replacement movie.

I can't even begin to describe how encouraging their visit was to me! I'm sure Sean would agree, but he was a little out of it. :)


All that to say, we learned some very important lessons:

- Not everything you read on the internet is a great idea. Just because it says that dumping boiling water on weeds kills them, does not necessarily mean you should go do it.

- Dumping boiling water over weeds does in fact work! It's the most expensive bare one foot by two foot section of our yard (ER visits aren't cheap!)

- When boiling water, use the small spaghetti pot instead of the 10 gallon stock pot.

-Amazing friends are hard to come by. Hang on to them!

Elijah helping Daddy model his wrapped hand.

And other than his wrapped hand being in this photo, it really has nothing to do with this post, but it makes me laugh anyway!

Sean and my brother, Mike, participating in some friendly rivalry! I love that they are each wearing flip flops and plaid shorts with their Cardinals/Royals gear!

*************

Also, thank you for continuing to vote for us in the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blog Contest! The contest is open for only 16 more days, and then I promise that I'll quit bugging you! We are currently in 3rd place but the distance between us and second place is increasing. Don't forget that you can vote once every 24 hours! We need your help! http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/Top-25-Moms-Of-Multiples-2012

Here's the Church, Here's the Steeple, Open the Doors, and See All the People!

Too cute!

Caleb, bless his sweet heart, isn't one to take risks. He is the very last baby to learn anything new developmentally. He always figures it out, but there doesn't seem to be much motivation there. Everyone has a nickname, and his is "Noodle." As in, "Wet Noodle." Catch my drift?

So today, I was very surprised to see him stand at the couch, turn away from it, let go, and take a step before falling down. All of the other babies have been taking a few steps, but he has refused to let go of our hands and try anything himself.

I was SO proud of him for having the courage to do that! Naturally, I celebrated! "Good job, Caleb!! Such a big boy! You did that all by yourself! Yay!!"

And then Elijah and Ellie both stopped what they were doing, looked at me, and started clapping their hands! So funny and sweet!

Yet another benefit of being a multiple: You are born with your own cheering section!

***********************

On Sunday, we did it!  We took our kids to church for the first time!

Yes, you may start applauding for all of us now. :-)

This was a long awaited moment at our house. We have so missed it! We haven't been to church since the day our first baby came home. I remember the day vividly. We went to church, went home and changed our clothes (germs!), and then drove to the hospital to pick up Elijah and bring him home. That was almost a year ago.



So for our first church adventure, we went to First Baptist Raytown. Although we didn't typically go to this church before we had kids, we definitely wanted to make sure that we visited. So many people from this church prayed for our family that we absolutely had to thank them in person. And this church also has some memories attached to it. It's where Sean and I first met eight years ago! :-)

I knew you all would want to see pictures of the occasion, so I took my camera!

Caleb thought this was quite possibly the worst idea we have come up with to date. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say, there were many tears and he didn't want to play at all. I'm sure the fact that church coincides with their nap time didn't help. One of the kind nursery workers held him the entire hour and rocked him until he fell asleep. This is a photo of the two of them after Caleb calmed down.

Abby, on the other hand, thought it was great! She explored all around the room and played with lots of toys. It was a much bigger than our living room, and she thought it was great that I let her roam free. Fun story about the photo on the right! That's a young lady who is a student volunteer in the nursery on some Sundays. She's an identical triplet! And she still thought we had a lot of kids! Haha!

Elijah wasn't a big fan of the nursery either, but he was willing to chew on the toy telephone for awhile. That lasted about 10 minutes, and then he decided he wanted to be held. He wasn't sad...more just cuddly and tired. So the sweet lady behind him in the photo let him fall asleep in her lap.

"Hi. Do I know you?" Ellie is probably my favorite baby to put captions on. Seriously. She is so hilariously expressive! She was an explorer like Abby, but also spent a fair amount of time being held. I thought she would have the most difficult time with her sensory issues, but nope! No tears, just Ellie doing her thing!

After the service ended, Sean came back to the nursery to pick the five of us up. We took the kids on a small tour of the church and introduced them to Pa and Ma's (Sean's parents') Sunday school classes. That was a lot of fun, and the most commonly heard phrase was, "That's a lot of babies!" :-) 

And then they all fell asleep on the short car ride home. After a quick lunch, we put them down for a nap, and they slept for THREE HOURS! I must say, while I'm not a big fan of how cranky they get when they miss their morning nap, I do love the extra long nap that I get that afternoon!

***********************

And a quick update: Thank you for voting for us in the 25 Top Moms of Multiples Blog Contest! Don't forget that you can vote once every 24 hours. I added a button to the top left hand corner of our home page to make it easy to link to it. Last I checked, we were in 3rd place which is pretty darn good! Thanks for keeping us in the top five!

Too cute!

Caleb, bless his sweet heart, isn't one to take risks. He is the very last baby to learn anything new developmentally. He always figures it out, but there doesn't seem to be much motivation there. Everyone has a nickname, and his is "Noodle." As in, "Wet Noodle." Catch my drift?

So today, I was very surprised to see him stand at the couch, turn away from it, let go, and take a step before falling down. All of the other babies have been taking a few steps, but he has refused to let go of our hands and try anything himself.

I was SO proud of him for having the courage to do that! Naturally, I celebrated! "Good job, Caleb!! Such a big boy! You did that all by yourself! Yay!!"

And then Elijah and Ellie both stopped what they were doing, looked at me, and started clapping their hands! So funny and sweet!

Yet another benefit of being a multiple: You are born with your own cheering section!

***********************

On Sunday, we did it!  We took our kids to church for the first time!

Yes, you may start applauding for all of us now. :-)

This was a long awaited moment at our house. We have so missed it! We haven't been to church since the day our first baby came home. I remember the day vividly. We went to church, went home and changed our clothes (germs!), and then drove to the hospital to pick up Elijah and bring him home. That was almost a year ago.



So for our first church adventure, we went to First Baptist Raytown. Although we didn't typically go to this church before we had kids, we definitely wanted to make sure that we visited. So many people from this church prayed for our family that we absolutely had to thank them in person. And this church also has some memories attached to it. It's where Sean and I first met eight years ago! :-)

I knew you all would want to see pictures of the occasion, so I took my camera!

Caleb thought this was quite possibly the worst idea we have come up with to date. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say, there were many tears and he didn't want to play at all. I'm sure the fact that church coincides with their nap time didn't help. One of the kind nursery workers held him the entire hour and rocked him until he fell asleep. This is a photo of the two of them after Caleb calmed down.

Abby, on the other hand, thought it was great! She explored all around the room and played with lots of toys. It was a much bigger than our living room, and she thought it was great that I let her roam free. Fun story about the photo on the right! That's a young lady who is a student volunteer in the nursery on some Sundays. She's an identical triplet! And she still thought we had a lot of kids! Haha!

Elijah wasn't a big fan of the nursery either, but he was willing to chew on the toy telephone for awhile. That lasted about 10 minutes, and then he decided he wanted to be held. He wasn't sad...more just cuddly and tired. So the sweet lady behind him in the photo let him fall asleep in her lap.

"Hi. Do I know you?" Ellie is probably my favorite baby to put captions on. Seriously. She is so hilariously expressive! She was an explorer like Abby, but also spent a fair amount of time being held. I thought she would have the most difficult time with her sensory issues, but nope! No tears, just Ellie doing her thing!

After the service ended, Sean came back to the nursery to pick the five of us up. We took the kids on a small tour of the church and introduced them to Pa and Ma's (Sean's parents') Sunday school classes. That was a lot of fun, and the most commonly heard phrase was, "That's a lot of babies!" :-) 

And then they all fell asleep on the short car ride home. After a quick lunch, we put them down for a nap, and they slept for THREE HOURS! I must say, while I'm not a big fan of how cranky they get when they miss their morning nap, I do love the extra long nap that I get that afternoon!

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And a quick update: Thank you for voting for us in the 25 Top Moms of Multiples Blog Contest! Don't forget that you can vote once every 24 hours. I added a button to the top left hand corner of our home page to make it easy to link to it. Last I checked, we were in 3rd place which is pretty darn good! Thanks for keeping us in the top five!

We Need Your Vote!

How fun is this??

We are in the running to be one of the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blogs for 2012! We would sure appreciate your votes to help us make that happen!

Voting is easy! Just click this link, find our blog, and click on the yellow thumb's up! At the moment, we are in 5th place.

Easy peasy! And you don't even have to register with the website to vote!

You can vote once every 24 hours and voting closes May 23rd. And if you want to ask your friends to vote for us, we would love for you to pass the link on to them!

Since the contest is open for another couple of weeks, I may throw out a reminder a couple of times. What an honor to actually be in that blogroll!

Thanks for your help!!

How fun is this??

We are in the running to be one of the Top 25 Moms of Multiples Blogs for 2012! We would sure appreciate your votes to help us make that happen!

Voting is easy! Just click this link, find our blog, and click on the yellow thumb's up! At the moment, we are in 5th place.

Easy peasy! And you don't even have to register with the website to vote!

You can vote once every 24 hours and voting closes May 23rd. And if you want to ask your friends to vote for us, we would love for you to pass the link on to them!

Since the contest is open for another couple of weeks, I may throw out a reminder a couple of times. What an honor to actually be in that blogroll!

Thanks for your help!!