Backyard Playground

Nothing is sweeter than the childhood delight of playing in the backyard!

A couple of months ago, we received a message from our friend, Crystal. Her daughter outgrew their swing set and they were getting ready to replace it. They offered it to us! And then on top of that, Crystal's brother had a matching swing set that his kids had outgrown. They offered that one to us as well!

Over the last two weeks, they've brought over both sets and set them up in the backyard. We can't believe that they just gave us the swing sets! We are beyond blessed as we wanted to get some backyard play items, but it wasn't in the budget.

I love that God provides for wants as well as needs! 

We invited Aunt Sarah and Cousin Aly over to help us break them in. I'll let the photos do the talking. The kids have been all over the swing sets since they arrived!

Ellie 

 Cousin Aly

Abby 

Aunt Sarah, Cousin Aly, and Elijah 

 Caleb

Caleb 

Abby 

Ellie 

Elijah

How fun to have a playground right in our own backyard now! And to have friends who love our kids enough to pass it on to them!

Nothing is sweeter than the childhood delight of playing in the backyard!

A couple of months ago, we received a message from our friend, Crystal. Her daughter outgrew their swing set and they were getting ready to replace it. They offered it to us! And then on top of that, Crystal's brother had a matching swing set that his kids had outgrown. They offered that one to us as well!

Over the last two weeks, they've brought over both sets and set them up in the backyard. We can't believe that they just gave us the swing sets! We are beyond blessed as we wanted to get some backyard play items, but it wasn't in the budget.

I love that God provides for wants as well as needs! 

We invited Aunt Sarah and Cousin Aly over to help us break them in. I'll let the photos do the talking. The kids have been all over the swing sets since they arrived!

Ellie 

 Cousin Aly

Abby 

Aunt Sarah, Cousin Aly, and Elijah 

 Caleb

Caleb 

Abby 

Ellie 

Elijah

How fun to have a playground right in our own backyard now! And to have friends who love our kids enough to pass it on to them!

Picnic Play Date

This was just too fun not to share!

Last week, we were invited over for a play date with our friends, the Lights. We have been invited over a few times this summer and enjoyed each visit immensely! They have four daughters and a huge open basement with lots of room to run around. The kids love it!

Last week, Kristina and I were chatting about our upcoming play date and she invited us over for lunch.

Lunch? You want me to bring my four toddlers over to your house and let them eat on your carpet?!

It actually turned out amazingly well! Kristina had a fun array of finger foods set out and planned their picnic lunch around a viewing of VeggieTales. Clearly she knows the magic that VeggieTales holds over my children!

In my head, I saw my kids running all over the place, dropping food on the floor, refusing to sit still...but they actually behaved themselves! Proud Mama! :)

Caleb                                                                            Abby 

Eli                                                                                  Ellie

We did pick our plates up and dump them over a few times (*cough* Ellie *cough*), but the plastic tablecloth that they sat on caught most of the food. 

Sometimes I forget that they are growing up. I wouldn't have voluntarily set up a picnic for them, but apparently we can start to introduce more big kid activities and expect something besides certain chaos. I think I need to start letting them be a bit more adventurous. That's exciting! :)

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see the disclaimer page.

This was just too fun not to share!

Last week, we were invited over for a play date with our friends, the Lights. We have been invited over a few times this summer and enjoyed each visit immensely! They have four daughters and a huge open basement with lots of room to run around. The kids love it!

Last week, Kristina and I were chatting about our upcoming play date and she invited us over for lunch.

Lunch? You want me to bring my four toddlers over to your house and let them eat on your carpet?!

It actually turned out amazingly well! Kristina had a fun array of finger foods set out and planned their picnic lunch around a viewing of VeggieTales. Clearly she knows the magic that VeggieTales holds over my children!

In my head, I saw my kids running all over the place, dropping food on the floor, refusing to sit still...but they actually behaved themselves! Proud Mama! :)

Caleb                                                                            Abby 

Eli                                                                                  Ellie

We did pick our plates up and dump them over a few times (*cough* Ellie *cough*), but the plastic tablecloth that they sat on caught most of the food. 

Sometimes I forget that they are growing up. I wouldn't have voluntarily set up a picnic for them, but apparently we can start to introduce more big kid activities and expect something besides certain chaos. I think I need to start letting them be a bit more adventurous. That's exciting! :)

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see the disclaimer page.

Four Little Princesses

STINK!

I hate it when we have a big moment, and I forget my camera! I did the best I could with my camera phone, but these photos are sorely lacking. :( Oh well. Hopefully you can at least sort of halfway visualize what we did.

A few days ago, we ventured out for our first away from home play date. A friend of mine, Kristina, actually thought it was a brilliant idea to invite over 14 month old quads! Bless her sweet heart for opening her home to us and being what amounts to a guinea pig since I had NO idea how the babies would do with it!

Long story short, I think it was a success! 

Kristina has four little girls who helped to entertain and play with the babies so that occasionally, we could shout a few words to each other (put eight kids in one room and it gets noisy!). The best part, though came later on during our visit.

Caleb: "Mom, I have my eye on you. Do not move, because I'm not so sure about this."

Elijah: "Playing with girls is EXHAUSTING!"

Abby and Ellie: "So many new toys!"

Little Lucy and Kristina

Towards the end of our visit, Kristina and I were trying to chat a little bit, and the noise level was building (we were getting dangerously close to nap time for our kids). I finally suggested that maybe her little girls could put on a fashion show for us. They have tons and tons of fun little girl dress up clothes! It took them a minute, but then they got all excited about modeling purple dresses for me. Why purple? Because Emily (Kristina's oldest daughter) and I LOVE purple!

So Emily, Kayla, and Brielle trotted off down the hallway to their playroom to don perfect purple princess dresses, leaving Kristina and I in the family room with her Lucy and my babies. However, Abby saw them run down the hallway and disappear into another room, so she crawled along to see where they went.

Since I had already been in the room, I knew there was nothing that she could get into or choke on, and I was pretty sure that Emily and Kayla would let me know if she was getting into trouble. I let her go since I wasn't too worried about it.

A few minutes later, the fashion show started with the girls taking turns announcing each other to the room and then coming in and posing. It was adorable and makes me look forward to fashion shows with my own girls!

Then, all of the sudden, Emily looked down the hall, and yelled, "Presenting.....Abby!" and Abby came crawling down the hall in a princess robe. Somehow, Emily and Kayla had managed to quietly dress her up without us knowing. Keep in mind that they are only 6 and 4 years old. I think the best part is that Abby had no idea what was going on. She went with it and just happened to crawl back down the hallway at the appropriate time.  It was hilarious! 

The Four Princesses Modeling their Dresses

 Brielle, Emily, Abby, and Kayla (and Caleb)

Thanks for hosting us, Kristina!

 *******************

Don't forget to vote! You don't have to sign up for anything or provide any personal info. Just click the link and give us the "thumbs up!" It takes three seconds! We've been bouncing between 2nd and 3rd place for the last 24 hours. This is crazy competitive! 

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

STINK!

I hate it when we have a big moment, and I forget my camera! I did the best I could with my camera phone, but these photos are sorely lacking. :( Oh well. Hopefully you can at least sort of halfway visualize what we did.

A few days ago, we ventured out for our first away from home play date. A friend of mine, Kristina, actually thought it was a brilliant idea to invite over 14 month old quads! Bless her sweet heart for opening her home to us and being what amounts to a guinea pig since I had NO idea how the babies would do with it!

Long story short, I think it was a success! 

Kristina has four little girls who helped to entertain and play with the babies so that occasionally, we could shout a few words to each other (put eight kids in one room and it gets noisy!). The best part, though came later on during our visit.

Caleb: "Mom, I have my eye on you. Do not move, because I'm not so sure about this."

Elijah: "Playing with girls is EXHAUSTING!"

Abby and Ellie: "So many new toys!"

Little Lucy and Kristina

Towards the end of our visit, Kristina and I were trying to chat a little bit, and the noise level was building (we were getting dangerously close to nap time for our kids). I finally suggested that maybe her little girls could put on a fashion show for us. They have tons and tons of fun little girl dress up clothes! It took them a minute, but then they got all excited about modeling purple dresses for me. Why purple? Because Emily (Kristina's oldest daughter) and I LOVE purple!

So Emily, Kayla, and Brielle trotted off down the hallway to their playroom to don perfect purple princess dresses, leaving Kristina and I in the family room with her Lucy and my babies. However, Abby saw them run down the hallway and disappear into another room, so she crawled along to see where they went.

Since I had already been in the room, I knew there was nothing that she could get into or choke on, and I was pretty sure that Emily and Kayla would let me know if she was getting into trouble. I let her go since I wasn't too worried about it.

A few minutes later, the fashion show started with the girls taking turns announcing each other to the room and then coming in and posing. It was adorable and makes me look forward to fashion shows with my own girls!

Then, all of the sudden, Emily looked down the hall, and yelled, "Presenting.....Abby!" and Abby came crawling down the hall in a princess robe. Somehow, Emily and Kayla had managed to quietly dress her up without us knowing. Keep in mind that they are only 6 and 4 years old. I think the best part is that Abby had no idea what was going on. She went with it and just happened to crawl back down the hallway at the appropriate time.  It was hilarious! 

The Four Princesses Modeling their Dresses

 Brielle, Emily, Abby, and Kayla (and Caleb)

Thanks for hosting us, Kristina!

 *******************

Don't forget to vote! You don't have to sign up for anything or provide any personal info. Just click the link and give us the "thumbs up!" It takes three seconds! We've been bouncing between 2nd and 3rd place for the last 24 hours. This is crazy competitive! 

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

"We Aren't the Only People In the World?"

We are finally getting to branch out from our lockdown! Getting to have play dates seems like such a big deal!

Thank goodness, because I was going NUTS!

First Official Play Date!

Kerri and Me

Ellie, Malachi, Elijah, Caleb, and Abby

The kids did really well and only tried to sit on Malachi's head a few times! Kerri pulled them off of him each time, so I think he escaped unscathed. Since the kids have always had to jockey for the space they need/want, they have to learn how to be gentle with kids who haven't been vying for space since the womb. My kids will just climb over each other without another thought. I'm still trying to figure out how to teach them that not all kids have experienced that...

And--Praise God!--Ellie did so well with her sensory issues! We are so proud of her for playing so nicely and not getting overwhelmed. She was tired later on, but she held it together while Malachi was over.

First Official MULTIPLES Play Date!

Laura and Me

Anna and Reed, Elijah (in the middle), and Caleb, Ellie, and Abby

(How impressive is it that Sean caught this photo of all six babies and both Moms looking at the camera?!?!)

Anna and Reed were NICU buddies with our babies last year...only we didn't know that until recently! I read an article a couple of months ago about how Laura and her husband were keeping their kids on lockdown since their babies were born at Saint Luke's Hospital just like ours were. I left a comment, one of Laura's friends saw it and told her to look me up, and a few FaceBook messages later, we were fast friends with our NICU experience and multiples pulling us together.

Since we are new to the world of germs, Anna and Reed were the perfect little people to have over. Since they had been on lockdown and our kids had been on lockdown, Laura and I knew that there probably weren't too many germs that they could share with each other. They came over to play for their first play date with kids their age. It was so exciting for Laura and I to see how our little guys would interact together. The first few minutes were spent with each set up multiples observing the other set of multiples and trying to figure out where they came from, but then they got down to the business of playing!


We also took the kids outside one afternoon this week to watch the cars drive past and listen to outdoor noises. It was not nearly the hit that the play dates were. Ellie and Caleb refused to be put down. Abby didn't want to touch the grass. And Elijah pretty much just sat there.

Grandmacita and Ellie

Grandmacita trying to take pictures while holding Caleb

This picture is about accurate for how the outside playing time went. Note how all of the kids are looking down. It was an overcast day, but apparently it was still too bright.

Cita holding Ellie and Caleb. Abby crawling right to the edge, but not touching the grass! And Elijah sitting on the blanket.

 And then my good friend, Sarah, came by for a visit with her new baby, Rachel! Sarah has been at our house every week to help with the kids since they came home...until about seven weeks ago when she had her own baby. I love how quickly the kids ran over to hug her when she got here!

Rachel, Sarah, Abby, and Elijah

It's so nice to finally be able to slowly start introducing our kids to the big wide world! We are trying to take it slow and not overwhelm their little immune systems with too much all at once, but it is so exciting to FINALLY get to feel a little bit like a normal mom scheduling normal play dates for my kids...and for me! Yeah, I'll admit, the social interaction is definitely a perk!

We are finally getting to branch out from our lockdown! Getting to have play dates seems like such a big deal!

Thank goodness, because I was going NUTS!

First Official Play Date!

Kerri and Me

Ellie, Malachi, Elijah, Caleb, and Abby

The kids did really well and only tried to sit on Malachi's head a few times! Kerri pulled them off of him each time, so I think he escaped unscathed. Since the kids have always had to jockey for the space they need/want, they have to learn how to be gentle with kids who haven't been vying for space since the womb. My kids will just climb over each other without another thought. I'm still trying to figure out how to teach them that not all kids have experienced that...

And--Praise God!--Ellie did so well with her sensory issues! We are so proud of her for playing so nicely and not getting overwhelmed. She was tired later on, but she held it together while Malachi was over.

First Official MULTIPLES Play Date!

Laura and Me

Anna and Reed, Elijah (in the middle), and Caleb, Ellie, and Abby

(How impressive is it that Sean caught this photo of all six babies and both Moms looking at the camera?!?!)

Anna and Reed were NICU buddies with our babies last year...only we didn't know that until recently! I read an article a couple of months ago about how Laura and her husband were keeping their kids on lockdown since their babies were born at Saint Luke's Hospital just like ours were. I left a comment, one of Laura's friends saw it and told her to look me up, and a few FaceBook messages later, we were fast friends with our NICU experience and multiples pulling us together.

Since we are new to the world of germs, Anna and Reed were the perfect little people to have over. Since they had been on lockdown and our kids had been on lockdown, Laura and I knew that there probably weren't too many germs that they could share with each other. They came over to play for their first play date with kids their age. It was so exciting for Laura and I to see how our little guys would interact together. The first few minutes were spent with each set up multiples observing the other set of multiples and trying to figure out where they came from, but then they got down to the business of playing!


We also took the kids outside one afternoon this week to watch the cars drive past and listen to outdoor noises. It was not nearly the hit that the play dates were. Ellie and Caleb refused to be put down. Abby didn't want to touch the grass. And Elijah pretty much just sat there.

Grandmacita and Ellie

Grandmacita trying to take pictures while holding Caleb

This picture is about accurate for how the outside playing time went. Note how all of the kids are looking down. It was an overcast day, but apparently it was still too bright.

Cita holding Ellie and Caleb. Abby crawling right to the edge, but not touching the grass! And Elijah sitting on the blanket.

 And then my good friend, Sarah, came by for a visit with her new baby, Rachel! Sarah has been at our house every week to help with the kids since they came home...until about seven weeks ago when she had her own baby. I love how quickly the kids ran over to hug her when she got here!

Rachel, Sarah, Abby, and Elijah

It's so nice to finally be able to slowly start introducing our kids to the big wide world! We are trying to take it slow and not overwhelm their little immune systems with too much all at once, but it is so exciting to FINALLY get to feel a little bit like a normal mom scheduling normal play dates for my kids...and for me! Yeah, I'll admit, the social interaction is definitely a perk!