He's Coming Home!

Today is the day! Bruce is coming home! He should be here just before dinner if all goes as planned and we can't wait to see him. Another deployment down - woohoo! I am so proud of my little chickens. They really helped me and tried so hard to be good while Daddy was gone. They have definitely earned their trip to Chuck E Cheese. We hit a few "bumps in the road" with everyone getting sick for so long and transitioning Sullivan to her toddler bed, but we made it through and we're stronger for it. My wonderful Mother and Mother-in-Law helped me so much during this deployment; I could NOT have done it without them. We're lucky to have such a great support system.

We're going to work on a few "Welcome Home" surprises today and try to not watch the clock. Bruce will have a week off work and we're really looking forward to some much-needed family time. I'll try to post pictures tonight or tomorrow.

Here you go...

Waiting for Daddy to come home. Not fifteen minutes after I put those balloons up a huge rainstorm rolled in and popped about half of them and nearly deflated the rest. Nice. Luckily we were able to save a few.

When the kids heard the doorbell ring they got so excited and ran to the door yelling "Daddy!"

Sullivan wouldn't take a picture until she had her white balloon like the big kids.

Big smiles and big hugs. Think they missed their Daddy? It's so good to have him home!

Cotton Row Run

I signed up for the Cotton Row Run a couple of weeks ago and when K and I were still sick on Friday,  I was worried I wasn't going to be up for the challenge. However, by the time Monday rolled around I felt good enough to run the 10k. The Cotton Row Run is a fun, well-organized race with a fast, beautiful course through Blossomwood (my parents' neighborhood) and downtown Huntsville. It was hot, but we had a nice breeze and there was a lot of shade along our route and LOTS of water stops and sprinklers to run through. It wasn't my "prettiest" race, but it was my best 10k race time to date - 58:20. I had to walk a few times yesterday. Having not worked out or run in almost two weeks, my legs felt like jello and I just felt weak in general. Walking seemed like a better option than passing out or throwing up, so I tried to not let my pride get in the way and took breaks when I needed them. I was glad to cross the finish line and pretty happy with my time given everything that's gone on around here lately. My parents, brother, and grandparents were waiting on me at the finish line yesterday and that was special for me. That's the first race any of them have been to. It made me feel like a kid again having them there cheering me on. :) This is a race I'd like to run again next year and I'm hoping next year Bruce will be here to run it with me. I hope everyone had a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend.

Questions

Oh the things my little ones ask these days. Here are a couple of my favorite questions from this week.

Owen: "Mommy"
Me: "Yes?"
Owen: "Can I still have my lovies when I grow up and I'm a firefighter?"
Me: "Yes buddy, you can still have your lovies when you're a firefighter."

My precious, precious boy. I hope I never forget him asking me that.

Kathryn: "Mommy"
Me: "Yes?"
Kathryn: "How did that baby get in that woman's belly?" (after seeing a pregnant woman on tv)
Me: "God put that baby in her belly."
Kathryn: "Oh, okay."

I'm wondering how much longer simple answers like that will work. I so wish Bruce had been there for that one though. I would have loved to have seen his face.

My sweet Sullivan. She's not asking me too many tough questions yet, but I wanted to put something up about her too and what her little personality is like now.

She is a fan of anything purple, loves butterflies and any kind of shirt, skirt, or dress with butterflies on it, dresses with "little tutu's" as she calls them, watering anything I let her when we're outside, and the flowers that bloom on the tree in our back yard. Every morning she'll call me outside to show me "more purple flowers!" She's quick to take a swing at Owen when he aggravates her now, but does a fair share of the aggravating herself. Those two go at it non-stop. She will sit and listen to anything and everything her big sister has to say and loves to go along with whatever game K has come up with for them at that particular moment. She weighs as much as Owen does, give or take a couple of ounces and is about 3 inches shorter than he is. We get asked a lot "Are they triplets?" They do look pretty close in size now. It's either the triplet question or they think O and S are the twins. Kinda' funny.

Her favorite food is still mac cheese, but she also like hot dogs, tuna sandwiches, jelly sandwiches(she's not too big on peanut butter lately), whole wheat waffles with honey, yogurt, and most fruits. Right now I'm lucky if I can get a green bean in her as she's really boycotting veggies. Her food preferences (and willingness to try new foods) are somewhere between Owen's and Kathryn's - not quite as healthy as Owen, but likes more foods than K and doesn't have quiet the sweet tooth K does.

In the last week she's told me twice, "I don't want to wear diapers, I want to wear underwear!" We've already picked out the Dora undies she wants and the Dora potty seat and she knows the goal of potty-training is "to keep your underwear clean and fresh." I usually say dry, but she says fresh. Hey, fresh works too right? I suspect in the next month or two we'll probably give it a shot. I'm not eager to get my last baby out of diapers. I will really miss that little swish-swish sound her diaper makes just after I've changed her and she gets up and runs down the hall. I love that. I'm letting her tell me when she's ready. Having her in a toddler bed now though is one giant step closer to potty-training.

She speaks pretty clearly in my book and she can communicate anything she's thinking or feeling now. When she says cheese stick, chocolate milk, Chuck e Cheese, and other "ch" words, that "ch" sound is very pronounced, especially if there's an "s" in there anywhere and it's adorable. So cheese stick comes out more like "sheesh shtick" and Chuck e Cheese comes out "Shutty Sheesh" :) As full of life and independent as she is, you can tell she knows she's the baby of the family and will almost always let me, Bruce, Owen, and Kathryn treat her that way.

That's all for now folks! Kathryn broke out in a viral rash this afternoon, but the nurse said that's a sign that this thing is almost over. Woohoo! She has felt so miserable, I'm ready for my little girl to feel like herself again and I know she is too.

A Long Two Weeks

I haven't forgotten about blogging and my "picture-a-day" promise to Bruce, it's just been a LONG two weeks and blogging has taken a backseat to everything else. Owen got sick the day before Mother's Day and ran a five-day fever. The following Monday his fever got up to 104.5 and I was scared. The on-call nurse told us we could wait until the morning to see the doc if that was his only symptom (and it was), but that a 105 fever was an automatic trip to the ER. The next day the doctor told me his blood work was fine and that it was just a nasty virus he would have to ride out. Two days later he was back to normal and the fever was gone. That was last Friday.

Sunday night Kathryn started screaming "My head is hurting!" and I gave her ibuprofen and water and she was fine 30 minutes later. Around midnight she woke up with a fever and a headache and threw up. (I learned last week from the doc that when a kid's temp spikes like that they can/often throw up). I thought it was just like Owen's virus until Monday night when her fever got up to 104 and she said her neck hurt. Scary. I again called the on-call nurse and we went through all of her symptoms and she finally said she thought we could wait to see the doc in the morning. The next day the pediatrician told me her white count was high and that because my throat looked the way it did that we probably had strep. Oh yeah, did I mention Monday I started running a fever and my throat started hurting? We both started antibiotics that night and my Mom offered to take Sullivan and Owen on Wednesday morning so K and I could rest. The medicine didn't seem to help either of us and since K was still running a fever we went back to the doctor yesterday and I went to my doctor. The medicine wasn't helping because neither of us had strep, just the same nasty virus Owen had. My doctor gave me a steroid shot and today I can swallow without having to brace myself and I've been fever free for almost 24-hours. Bug still has a terrible runny nose and a fever, but this is day four so I'm praying tomorrow is her last day of a fever, if not today.

Sullivan started running a fever two days ago at my Mom's house, but she seems to only spike one in the afternoon and then gets ibuprofen and is fine until the next afternoon. We're going to go to my Mom's in the morning. I miss my other little ones soooo much, but I thought one more night of rest would do wonders for both of us. Mom promised me Sullivan is playing, eating, and drinking like normal, she just gets a fever in the afternoon. I hate being away from her when she's sick, but I know she's in good hands. Here's a pic of Bug I took the other night. This pretty much sums up the way we've all been feeling lately.

Anyway, that's it for now. Just wanted to explain my absence and apologize for the lack of pics. Hopefully this will all be behind us soon and everyone will be back to normal by the time Bruce gets home. Wouldn't that be a cheerful and fun homecoming? Ha!

A Much Better Night

I'll make this short and sweet. Sullivan had a much better night last night! Yay! She wouldn't take a nap in her bed yesterday so I tried to get them in bed right at 7:00 last night. After I tucked Owen and Kathryn in, I took Sullivan to her room and we read one story and then I told her to get in her big girl bed (we REALLY played up the big girl thing yesterday too). Then she wanted to sing a song, so we sang two songs while I sat in the floor and rubbed her back. She was asleep in about four minutes. She did wake up around 2:30 or 3:00, but she stayed in her crib this time. I didn't say a word to her when I walked in her room. I covered her back up and gave her her lovey and rubbed her back for a minute or two and then she fell back asleep in a couple of minutes. It's almost 7:00am and she's still asleep. I know better than to assume that she's adjusted and won't have any more issues with her toddler bed, but we're making progress. Way to go Sullivan! You've definitely earned your M&M's this morning!

This is more about Owen, but I had to throw this in here. As you might imagine, with Daddy gone and living with three girls 24/7 Owen doesn't always get the guy time he deserves. This morning he asked me if he could watch "Mighty Machines" and I said "of course!" He has to watch Dora and My Little Pony all too often. Kathryn was complaining about having to watch this show and Owen looked at her and said "I don't have any brothers here so I get to watch this show!" Ha!! How adorable is that? Looks like he was really paying attention to me when I told Kathryn Owen needed a boy show because he's the only boy here right now. Hang in there Owie...Daddy will be home soon and he'll take you to do lots of guy things and let you help with all of his repairs I'm sure.

One Long Night

Last night was one long night! Sullivan and Owen were up from about 1:00am until 3:45am. I haven't been this tired in quite a while. I know there must have been days in the kids' newborn phase where I felt like this, but that was a long time ago. It doesn't help either that I've been spoiled by children who typically sleep from 7pm until 5:45 or 6am for the last couple of years.

I have no idea why Owen got up last night. He said he was hot, that he was all alone in his room (he shares a room with K), that "Buggy is waking me up" (she was not), and my personal favorite was when he told me there were ants in his room and he couldn't sleep. There are no ants in his room or anywhere else in the house for that matter. He was really reaching for a reason to come out of his room...where that came from I have no idea! I finally told him that if he came out again that he would be in trouble and that if Mommy didn't sleep, I wouldn't feel good tomorrow and that I needed to feel good to take care of him and Sullivan and Kathryn. Sounds reasonable right? He was upset when I walked out, but he calmed down and fell back asleep within a few minutes.

My sweet Sullivan. I don't know what to do about her sleeping problem. Last night she was so tired that she fell asleep in my arms before I put her in her bed. I went in to check on her before I got ready for bed around 10 and she was sleeping in the floor. I put her back in her bed and she stayed there until about 1am. When Owen and Kathryn got their toddler beds (at just one month younger than Sullivan is now) they were so into it! The first night Owen fell out and somehow managed to wiggle his way under his crib, but other than that they understood it was still a bed and all of our normal sleeping "rules" still applied. Putting a baby gate up in front of their door fixed Owen's little "I want to wander around the house in the middle of the night" problem. Once he realized he couldn't get out, he started sleeping through the night. I just looked back at the blog from a year ago and I offered M&M's to the big kids for staying in their bed all night and we got the stop light for their room so they would know when to get up. Maybe that will help Sullivan as well. Oh I hope she takes a good nap today and sleeps well tonight. We all need it.

Toddler Bed Update

After blogging this morning about waiting for Bruce to come home to convert Sullivan's crib into a toddler bed, I realized that it probably wasn't a hard thing to do and decided to do it myself. It took all of 10 minutes and probably wouldn't have taken that long had I not had so much "help." :) I can't believe our crib days are over. I guess the only thing left of Sullivan's baby days are her diapers and I'm not in any rush to get rid of those! (Well, except when I pay for them at the store.) I'm hoping a new big girl bed will be enough to keep Sullivan in her room tonight, and more importantly, that she'll get the sleep I know she needs. Here are a few pictures from this morning.

How to climb out of your crib

Mad Sullivan

Happy Sullivan

The place to be this morning

And just for fun (and for Bruce) a picture of Kathryn after her hair cut this morning.

That's all for today folks. I'm one tired Mama and I still have a lot of work left to do before we call it a day. Just had to get these pictures up. We definitely made up for not getting out yesterday. This morning we went to Hobby Lobby, Wal Mart, the salon for K, and Moe's for lunch. Whew! I'm so proud of my little chickens for behaving and working with me when we go places. Our days and outings aren't always perfect, but our kiddos sure do try and at this age that's what it's all about - trying and learning. I love you babies! Daddy and I are so proud of you!

Time for a Toddler Bed

Imagine my surprise last night when this little girl comes running into the kitchen around 9:30. Yep, it finally happened. She climbed out of her crib. When Bruce gets home we'll turn the last crib in our house into a toddler bed. Sniff, sniff.

For the last week, Sullivan has really been fighting her sleep. Her first two-year molar broke through about a week ago, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. She just doesn't seem tired at all at bedtime. We're not doing anything different so I don' get it. I won't lie, it's exhausting. Three nights out of the last five I've had to let her cry-it-out. It's painful for both of us. I guess last night she finally got mad enough to bust out of her crib. She was shaking pretty hard by the time she found me in the kitchen. Bless her heart! It must have taken a lot of energy and courage to climb out and run down that dark hall without knowing where I was...especially after all that screaming.

Does this ever happen when Bruce is here? Nope. Maybe that has something to do with it too. I'm sure she senses things are different despite my best efforts to keep everything as normal and routine as possible. Anyway, here's a picture I took last night (with my phone again - sorry) of my so-not-sleepy little girl.

Picture of the Day

What? You don't eat breakfast dressed like this?

Mimi (my Mom) came down yesterday morning to hang out with us and we loved having her here. She watched the kiddos yesterday morning while I went to the gym and then to HomeGoods. That might be my favorite store ever. Seriously. I found a mirror for our dining room...just the right size, color, and price. Perfect! I went in for planters for the front porch and left with a mirror, but hey, I needed a mirror so I still consider that a win. After that I came home and attacked the bushes out front. They've grown so much in the last few months and needed to be put in their place. Ha! There's a lot more order in the front flower beds now and the 20 minutes I spent trimming and pruning made a huge difference. You'll probably find this hard to believe, but using a water hose and working in the dirt can be challenging with three toddlers running around. ;) I was able to get all of my yard work done quickly yesterday and today with Mom here to keep the kids occupied.

After my little landscaping session, Mom and I took Owen, Kathryn, and Sullivan to their very first movie! They did so great! We saw Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked. It was a cute movie and the kids had a fit (in a good way) over the popcorn. The funniest part of the whole outing to me was when we walked in the dark theatre, Owen refused to walk down the aisle. I guess walking into a big dark room with a sloped floor would be kind of scary if you were three and didn't know what to expect. He recovered quickly and enjoyed sneaking sips of my Coke once we sat down. With summer coming (and that insane heat that I absolutely can not stand!), it's nice to know we can go to the dollar movies and not worry about wasting our money if the kids aren't into that day or have a melt down. Hooray for the dollar movies!

This morning we went to church and Mom treated us to lunch afterwards. Sunday, for me, is the hardest day of the week without Bruce here. It's such a family kind of day and usually the calmest and most relaxing day of the week in our house. We miss him like crazy every day, but there's something about Sundays that makes us miss Bruce even more than usual. Having Mom here with us today was wonderful, she always finds a way to make us laugh and lift our spirits. What a blessing it is to have family nearby now when Bruce is gone. Thanks for coming to visit us Mimi! We love you.

I guess that's it for now. Bruce should be home one month from today! Yay! I can't think of anything big coming up this week, but I'm sure we'll find something fun to get into. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

The Double Web Shooter

Here you go...pictures of the day. Owen spent a good part of the afternoon running around the house pretending to be Spider-Man. I was lucky enough to have the camera close by and caught some of his super hero moves. He's a cute little Spider-Man if I do say so myself.

I call this move the double web shooter. Why shoot webs with one hand when you can use two?

Love the slippers!

He told me "on this hand is Daddy's watch and (holding up his left hand) on this hand is my watch."

One Week Down!

We made it through the first week of this deployment. Yay! One week down, five to go. We talk to Bruce every day and the kids talk about him all the time. They miss him and so do I, but we're doing well and keeping things as normal as possible around here. This past week actually flew by. The kids and I were in Huntsville until Tuesday and we had a great visit with the fam. Owen, Kathryn, and Sullivan were worn out by the time we got in the car to come home Tuesday afternoon. They all fell asleep within minutes of getting on the interstate.

While we were there, I went to the commissary on the arsenal. I brought back about two weeks worth of dry goods. I still had to stop for milk, meat, cheese, and eggs when we got back, but even with that stop I still saved about $80 off our grocery bill. Next time, I'm taking a cooler and shopping for meat and dairy there, it would probably save me another $20. That would ultimately save us $200 a month. I guess that sounds about right. Our monthly grocery bill was about $200 less when we were shopping on base in Biloxi.

Yesterday we got back to business as usual. We went to the gym, the grocery store, and took Owen and Sullivan to get their hair cut. Owen got a short cut like Daddy's that should definitely help keep him cool for a few weeks and Sullivan just got a little trim. After Owen got his hair cut he told Kathryn to rub his head. He said "Feel it! It feels like a teddy bear!" That's exactly what Bruce said to Owen last week after he got his deployment hair cut. It was very sweet. Sullivan told me she wanted to grow her hair out last week. Now, I'm not sure how much stock I should put in that, (this is the same little girl who says "up" when she means "down" and says "it's too loud" when she wants you to turn the volume up) but I think her hair is thick enough now to grow it out a little.

I'll be honest, that short cut makes her look like a baby and I like that. ;) It also fits her personality - spunky and care-free. Recently though a few people have asked me why I keep one girl's hair short and one girl's hair long or they'll ask me if Sullivan is a "tomboy." I guess the big hair bows and dresses made them wonder. (Detect any sarcasm?) I mean, they're two different kids...they can't have two different hair cuts? Anyway, I don't want Sullivan to ever think she has to wear her hair short (or long for that matter) or that she's not as girly as Kathryn or that if she's not girly and not into the Rapunzel look that there's anything wrong with that. I want Sullivan to be herself and right now she says she wants it long like "Latryn's" so we're going to make it happen.

Today is our "celebration day." The kids earned enough stars this week on their chore/behavior chart to have an "ice cream party." Woohoo! Owen, Kathryn, and Sullivan are working so hard to be good and help out around here while Bruce is gone. I am so proud of them and their "team effort" attitude. I tell them all the time that when Daddy's gone it's important to work as a team and they seem to understand what that means now. Don't get me wrong, I'm still breaking up fights and reminding them constantly to not aggravate each other/push each other/steal each other's food, but in general it's easy to see they're growing up a little more every day and things are getting easier all the time. This really is a completely different ball game than last summer.

I know this was a very random, scatter-brained post, but it's really to keep Bruce posted more than anything else. Like I said in an earlier post, I don't want him to miss a thing and maybe this will help him feel a bit more connected while he's away. Bless you if you read the whole thing!

I'll try to get a picture up tonight to go with this post. I hope everyone out there is having a good day!

Pictures of the Day

Picture of the Day

I walked in the living room yesterday and found my sweet girls like this. I love K's little toes in this picture and how Sullivan is snuggled up on her big sis.

(Sorry the picture's a little fuzzy - I took it with my phone.) We're headed to the circus this afternoon...I'm sure I'll have some pictures to post tonight!

A Picture (or Two) a Day While Daddy's Away

I'm going to try to post at least one picture every day for Bruce while he's gone. I'm sure some days it won't happen and some days I know he won't be able to look at the blog, but I'm going to give it my best anyway. I don't want him to miss out on anything. So here you go Bruce...these are for you! We miss you and we love you!

The McWane Center clearly wore Owen out.

Kathryn, however, not so much.

Deployment

Tomorrow's the day. We knew it would happen eventually, but we're really lucky in that this deployment is just shy of six weeks. I like to say 41 days - doesn't that sound like a shorter amount of time? The last time Bruce deployed was in May of 2008. I found out I was pregnant the morning he left and found out we were having twins three weeks into his deployment. My how things have changed since the last time we did this!

Even though this is our first deployment since having the kiddos, I think we're ready, or as ready as you can be for this type of thing. Bruce has taken several long trips in the last two years and that's helped prepare us for tomorrow. And I'll be honest, nothing seems scary after last summer. New house, new city, Bruce gone for four months, coming home every three or four weeks for a weekend, taking care of three babies under the age of three almost entirely on my own (read, I was sleep deprived!), car problems, air conditioner problems, a four-day power-outage in September, you name it, it happened. Yep, it was one LONG, crazy summer and fall. Now we feel settled and that's a wonderful feeling.

Reading stories before bed tonight...I hope the kids won't mind me filling in for Daddy while he's gone.

Here are a few things I learned last summer/fall that will hopefully make this deployment easier.

1.) Keep things as normal as possible at all times - same routines, same schedules, everything remains the same.

2.) Dinners must be simple. Sounds kinda' silly right? But hear me out on this one. The two or three hours before bedtime are the hardest hours of the day in our house. Everyone (Mom and Dad included) is tired and hungry and there's dinner to make and serve, baths to give, teeth to brush, and three little ones to get in bed on time. Simple dinners mean less time in the kitchen and less to clean-up.

3.) Get out of the house. We go to church, to the gym, the park, we go feed the ducks, we browse at Target, we go grocery shopping, we get lunch/dinner/dessert with friends, play outside, etc. We go, go, go...sitting at home and staring at each other is never the way to go.

4.) Plan a special activity or outing each week. Looking for a way to keep the kiddos focused and on track while Daddy's gone (the saying "while the cat's away, the mice will play" comes to mind), I bought a super cute chore/responsibility chart. At the end of each week, if the kiddos have a certain number of stars on their chart they get a special reward in the form of a pizza party at home, going out for ice cream, or a fun play date at the place of their choosing. Focusing on one week at a time will make the time go by a little faster for us all.

When Bruce was gone in 2008, I planned one trip each month he was gone and it made the time fly by. It was something to focus on and to look forward to each month. If that makes a grown woman feel better, I'm sure it will make our little ones feel better.  

5.) Talk to Daddy on the TV.  Hearing his voice and seeing his face is so comforting. So glad he bought that Kinect! We love our "TV dates" with Daddy!

6.) Count coffee filters. This will probably sound strange, but I can't be the only military wife that does this type of thing. Right now, I have about 50 coffee filters left in the box. If all goes as planned, Bruce will be home before those filters are gone. It's not like I count my coffee filters on a regular basis or anything, that's just an example of a way to count the days. When I'm at the store and I pick up a gallon of milk or container of yogurt and I can say "he'll be home before this expires!" it just feels good. I thought it sounded nuts...until Bruce told me he does the same thing when he's away from us.

7.) This too shall pass/ One day at a time/ Go with the flow. Choose your expression...I like them all because they all apply. We keep moving, we keep going, we cross days off the calendar. Just do it and get through it.

If I said I wasn't sad, I'd be lying. I'm always sad when Bruce leaves, this never gets any easier. Most couples will never have to spend this much time apart and most children will never have to wait that long for their dad to come home. For us though, it's a reality and we're proud to be a military family. Waiting just comes with the territory and whether it's one month or one year, you miss them and you want them home. Bruce, we love you and we're so proud of you!  We're counting down the days until you come home!

First Dentist Appointment

Yesterday Kathryn and Owen had their first dentist appointment! They did so well! Dr. Purvis at Vestavia Hills Pediatric Dentistry was great with the kids; he was soft-spoken and calm and explained everything he was going to do before he did it. We've been playing dentist at home for months now, trying to help O and K get ready for this appointment. Several parents warned me that the "freak out" happened when the dentist asked their child to lay back in the chair. So we practiced that at home on the floor and talked about the cool toothbrush that "tickles" their teeth, how they would get to pick out their own toothpaste at the dentist, how the dentist would brush fluoride on their teeth and why that's important, and that the mask the dentist would wear would be just like the one their Mimi wears in surgery to help keep germs away. As it turns out, all the parents we talked to were right. Even with all of this prep, when Kathryn got in the chair, she started to panic a little when we asked her to lie back. She didn't scream or fuss, she just puckered and a few big tears rolled down her face. Owen was totally into though and was happy to go first and give his little sister some time to get used to it all. He jumped right in the chair, kicked back, and followed Dr. Purvis's directions. I was so proud of him! Owie set a great example for Kathryn and when it was her turn, she was a lot less scared. We discussed Owen's thumb-sucking habit and ways to break that habit, but other than that both kiddos got a great report from the dentist! Yay for healthy teeth!

My favorite part of the appointment might have been when Kathryn walked up to Owen while he was having his teeth cleaned and started rubbing his leg. Like she was telling him "I'm still here, you're doing great!" I know I've mentioned it before, but there is something special about their bond. They balance out each other's strengths and understand each other's fears and are always aware of how the other is doing or feeling or where they are. They don't fight much (which is amazing in my book for three years old who spend every single minute together) and even though they are different as night and day, O and K's personalities and dispositions compliment each other so well. It's a joy to watch their bond strengthen as they grow.

I can't say enough good things about Vestavia Hills Pediatric Dentistry. Thanks to Dr. Purvis and his staff for making Owen and Kathryn's first appointment fun and tear-free (well, almost)!

Goodbye Valco!

Today we sold our beloved Valco stroller to a family in Georgia. They have 12 week old twins and a two year old. I may have cried (and by cried I mean sobbed) this morning when I was getting the stroller all cleaned up for its new owners ...are our stroller days really over? It sure seems that way. We haven't used the stroller in almost two months now. Our neighborhood is much too hilly for walks (at least with a big stroller and all three kids in it), the kids walk at the zoo and the mall, Target has a triple buggy, and any other errands we might run are short enough that the kids walk with me. We weren't even keeping the stroller in the back of the car anymore. It's just been sitting in the garage, taking up space so we figured it was time to let it go. I know our stroller's new family will enjoy it every bit as much as we did. What a lifesaver that thing was for me - there were many days I would have been stuck at home with all three babies had it not been for our awesome (and super cool looking) Valco. Here are a couple of pics of our sweet babies in their stroller for the last time.

In my opinion, the Valco Twin Trimode stroller with "Joey" toddler seat is an awesome option for anyone who has three toddlers, two infants and a toddler, two toddlers and an infant. I can't say enough good things about this stroller. We looked at several different triples when I was pregnant with Sullivan and I'm so glad we chose this stroller. Definitely look into this stroller if you need something to carry three little ones!

Easter 2012

Well, the pics didn't turn out so well this year, but we tried. In fact, that should have been the theme for Easter 2012..."We Tried!" I had my camera on the wrong setting and our Easter morning pictures turned out fuzzy and hazy. Easter service was also pretty interesting. It was if our children had never been to church before. They wiggled, they talked, they acted out, they fought over the snacks, they picked at each other, you name it, it probably happened. There wasn't a kid's service/kid's church that day and O and K wound up sitting in the pew with us - for an hour and a half! Pumping three year olds full of sugar and then expecting them to sit still for that long never works. They tried I know, but it still wasn't pretty. Sullivan went to the nursery and based on how happy she was when we picked her up, I think she had a great time and probably got the most out of church that day.

On Sunday afternoon my family and Bruce's parents came down for an Easter egg hunt and cookout. After all that had gone on that morning, it was nice to spend a relaxing afternoon with family, eating and catching up. The babies loved seeing their grandparents and hunting eggs with their uncles.

The Easter Bunny came to see us and left a note and some goodies and ate some of our jelly beans!

Kathryn packed her own backpack for church that morning and apparently snuck some jelly beans in her bag. Hence, the red, "I'm chewing so I can't smile" smile.

We tried with these...dang camera.

Hunting for eggs with Uncle Joey and Uncle Joshua

We took the babies out to Bass Pro Shops to see the Easter Bunny on Saturday and we got there around 4:15 or 4:30, only to find out the big furry dude stopped taking pictures at 4:00. We tried to make the best of it and not waste the hour we spent getting everyone ready and the 20 minute drive to Bass Pro and took some pictures of the kids anyway. Looking at these pictures now, there's a good chance my camera wasn't set properly on Saturday either.

Our trip to Bass Pro Shops...because when I think of Easter, I think of stuffed deer. Not.

She had just found a stuffed baby bear.

LOVE this picture.

My crew.

Owen wasn't really into taking pictures that afternoon. He fell asleep in the car and was still pretty groggy once we got inside and started taking pictures. However, once he found the giant aquarium all was right with the world again. Sweet boy.

Like I said, you could sum up Easter weekend around here with "we tried!" But some days (or weeks or months) are just like that when you have little ones. You do the best you can do and go with the flow. We still made some sweet memories together and the kids had a ball. At the end of the day, that's all that matters. I hope everyone out there had a happy Easter!

Coming up...
K and O's first trip to the dentist

Stay tuned!