What 18-Month Olds Do...

The kids are always busy. I'm surprised they have any time to hang out with me at all with all the other things they've got to do. I mean, they're excellent time managers because aside from napping, eating, changing, and playing with toys, they still manage to find time to empty 200 napkins from the pantry, throw cars/drumsticks/airplanes into the garbage, tear the dryer vent off the house, bang on the TV screen, taste test a slug (found one in Zachary's mouth the other day...either a slug or a very fat worm), chew through books, fall off the couch, and slobber all over newly-cleaned windows.

Other tasks on their lengthy to-do list include:

Grow grow grow...

(seven months ago)

(18 months old)

Sing songs and clap hands...


Give lots of kisses...


Create masterpieces on the back fence...


Help with the yardwork...


Sit and smile for pictures (ya right)...


and be the sweetest little munchkins ever. Caleb looks a bit scared here but 18 months can be scary. Believe me, I'm scared everyday about what the next adventure will be. Let's see if we survive.


We sure are thankful for our trio and love this age so much. It's challenging but a ton of fun. They get their 18-month shots next week and the doctor will evaluate how they are doing in their speech development. Leah is by far the best with words and identifying objects. The boys say about half of what she does (6-10 words) but they are moving right along. They all use a couple signs like 'more' and 'hungry' and LOVE to shout 'BUH' when they see buses drive by. Leah still only has three teeth. Not only has her teething been late but the teeth come in SOOOOO slow. We still have a lot of teething ahead of us unfortunately. They are learning how to jump, twist, shake, kick, push, climb, wave, and spin and realizing how capable their little bodies are. They love to give loves, hugs, and kisses to me and Clark (rarely to each other). They love the park and I'm always searching for a good one that has a safe structure and is enclosed. Parks like that are hard to come by. With six little legs scurrying around it's hard to keep track of all the places they could fall out of and get hurt. Luckily we've not had any ER trips yet.

Let's hope by the time 18 more months pass by they will all be potty trained!

18-Month Stats:

Caleb
Height: 34 inches (90th)
Weight: 25 lbs (40th)


Zachary
Height: 31 3/4 inches (25th)
Weight: 20.6 lbs (less than 3rd)


Leah
Height: 31 inches (45th)
Weight: 24.8 lbs (55th)

You're Mowin and Mom's Sewin...

I'm not ashamed to say that I have not put my best blogging efforts forward in 2012. Journaling, documenting, taking pictures, uploading, organizing, etc... can all start to become overwhelming when I know I'll be doing it for the rest of my life. There's always that nagging in the back of my mind to get it done and keep up otherwise I will regret it. That's why I trudge along but sometimes I just want to take a year off and not feel bad!

Anyway, now that February is OVER (can't believe it, told you I love this month) I want to recap the most exciting event! Not the fact that Bachelor Ben is falling for Courtney or that all the drama surrounding Adrian and Daphne on the Biggest Loser is out of the control or even Snow White and Prince Charming not getting together on Once Upon a Time is giving my anxiety. Nope, none of that although all is noteworthy. The most exciting event is that my mom came to visit! It was so nice to have some company since Clark at times worked 18 hours a day and is still going strong toward his deadline.

Because we usually don't go a ton of places due to the toddler:adult ratio, the trio are not exposed to strangers, family (don't live by any), or large groups very often. I was nervous about a new face coming to stay with us and knew it would take some time for them to get comfortable. I tried to show them pictures of Grandma and tell them she was coming but who knows how much they understood. They were pretty unsure about her being there initially and didn't have much interaction with her the first day. As time went on, however, they warmed up and soon were giving hugs and kisses and running to her with their bumps and bruises (well, except Caleb. I think his separation anxiety is at an all time high right now. I HAVE to be in the room in order for him to function. Meltdowns are inevitable when I have to go to the bathroom or get up to change someone's diaper. His behavior is insane. I'm just waiting patiently for it to pass. However, on her last day he did sit on her lap and hang out for a bit). Point is, they all enjoyed Grandma being here as much as I did! I sure loved all the help with laundry, meals, housework, yardwork, car cleaning, clothes organizing, sewing/mending, etc... You name it, we did it. All the stuff I've been putting off for months because tasks like mopping seem impossible with the kids and all their shenanigans. It felt so good to get some stuff out of the way. I even mowed the lawn. I didn't want the kids playing in grass and weeds up to their ears anymore and Clark is never home while it's light outside. Mom and I tried to get the lawn mower started for about 30 minutes with no luck. Then after a five minute break, I harnessed all my frustration and started it right up! Clark came home that night and immediately asked if my mom mowed the lawn!? Uh no. Your capable wife did. Obviously he didn't think I could complete such a task. Then he said, "Wow, you're mowin' and Mom's sewin'! This is great!" :) We were very productive while she was here, to say the least.

Amid all our productivity, I was noticing and thinking about some other things too that I wanted to write down so I'll read it later and remember. I realized I have this tendency to draw out negativity from any situation I encounter. If I come home from the park with the kids at which they all had a great time and played well, I will still manage to tell Clark some negative aspect to our visit. Maybe about some random kid who was blocking the slide or an old lady who kept staring at us or that it was too windy. Whatever it is, trips, movies, food, etc... I usually find a way to point out something negative. Clark will ask how my day is going during a phone call and I rarely say, 'great!' I usually talk about how Zachary wouldn't eat something or how the garbage truck came by and woke everyone up. I mean, how annoying am I? I don't know how long I've been doing it but I've just started to really notice in the past couple months. Sooooo, it was somewhat therapeutic to have my Mom here because with her not having seen the kids in a while, she was so amazed and proud of all their little accomplishments. How great Leah is walking although it's been less than a month or how all the kids eat such a variety of foods or how their speech development and comprehension is coming along so nicely. All things that I stress and worry about and am often complaining about, she came in and gave so much praise and positivity for. The perfectionist in me can sometimes set too high of expectations or make too rough of comparisons. I realize that I just need to relax and help the kids go and do at their own pace. Maybe Zachary squishing all the food in his hand during lunch isn't that big of deal and Clark would rather hear about the fun things we are doing.

Along with that I've been reading a book about how to become a Joyful Mother of Children. A few days ago I read the chapter about complimenting your kids out loud. Not just about how they completed a puzzle or if they built something with the blocks. Instead compliment things about their nature and personality. I tried this with Caleb one day after he had a meltdown so he was sitting with me on the couch. I just told him the things I liked and appreciated about him and honestly, it felt weird! I knew it was because although I think all these things and write them here on this blog, I never actually say them out loud to the kids. Obviously I need some practice so it feels more natural and happens more often. No better time to start than now! Another random tidbit from the book suggested to wake up each morning expecting an adventure, not doom. Believe me, I've laid in bed and asked myself, "am I seriously going to do this all over again today?" Definitely not the right attitude to start the day.

I was so glad for a different perspective (aka reality check) to help me take a step back and view what's going on in another light. It has helped me redirect my daily efforts and remind me of my goals. It has also helped me appreciate the progress, big or small, that the kids make each day that I sometimes fail to notice.

Beside all my self-reflection, we did actually go out and do some fun things! :) The first week my mom was here it was pretty cold outside so we did several trips to Target. Isn't Target the greatest store to walk around? One of those trips was to get some emergency Hot Wheels. It's an emergency when there are only six Hot Wheels and Caleb is capable of carrying five around in his hands. Not enough for everyone. Another trip was for an emergency book. My mom had bought one and it was a HUGE hit but unfortunately it had to be put away until we could get another one because of all the crying and drama over who got to look at it. I told her that if she bought any books for them, she had to do all the reading...


We also visited the mall which has a brand new play area! We went before the mall stores even opened so no one was there which was perfect. My stress level triples when other kids are there because I feel like I can't keep up with where everyone is at while making sure they aren't blocking slides or getting into someone's purse. The kids loved running around without consequence and most of all, going down the slide. Too bad there wasn't three slides because sometimes it would get a bit jammed up at the top...









My Dad wanted to finance a little adventure for the kids so he sent some money with Mom and we decided to go to the Indoor Safari! The kids are REALLY into cars, trucks, trains, planes, and buses right now so I thought the safari would be perfect because there is a train ride. Not only did we get our normal ride included with admission but as we were leaving, the owner asked if we wanted another ride! Of course we agreed and hopped on board. It was quite the squeeze and adults are NOT supposed to ride but since we were the only ones there, he didn't mind. Caleb would have had a heart attack anyway if I didn't get in with him.


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The place itself is not really suitable for toddlers under 2 years of age but since we had the place to ourselves the trio was able to play in the ball pit and jump on the tramp without bigger kids running them over.



They were exhausted afterward and so were we. Luckily the safari was only about five minutes away from home!

My Mom's birthday happened to fall during her trip out here so luckily we got to celebrate it with her! She was here two years ago on her birthday as well (when I was deathly ill from early pregnancy and could barely function) so maybe this will have to be a tradition! Unfortunately two years ago it snowed A LOT during February. This year, however, it was beautiful, sunny, and 70+ degrees. We went and had lunch at Dickey's BBQ then headed to the park to enjoy the weather.


Ya that's my child in a giant Hot Wheel that doesn't belong to him. Just checking it out. It's rightful owner came and kicked Caleb out very soon after this picture...


She did not want to go down the slide apparently...


So much better...


This guy LOVES to slide. He did it about 15 times in a row before moving on to something else. Pretty incredible for a kid who can't focus on much for more than 15 seconds...


Of course a birthday wouldn't be complete without some gift giving! Caleb was shaking it so if you can't tell, it's the Justin Bieber: Never Say Never movie for Grandma.


I think it's probably time to talk about my fascination with Justin Bieber. I'm not ashamed, by the way. :) It all started because RedBox was out of the movie I wanted. There was nothing else to rent and Clark was working late so I knew I should probably watch something he wasn't interested in. Never Say Never seemed like a good choice although I was never pro-Bieber from the get go. Took it home, watched it, FELL IN LOVE, and here I am. Clark did come home during the last 30 minutes of the movie and enjoyed what he saw so luckily he allows my obsession to continue. He bought me the movie because he said I wasn't allowed to spend anymore on renting it and he also got me the most recent Christmas album. I know, it's totally weird and random but I like being a part/fan of something much much bigger than me (such as Twilight). His fame and followers is outrageous but more than that, I actually really like his music! I listen to nursery rhymes and primary songs most of the day and rarely hear the radio so I wanted to get the trio liking some Bieber music and now we jam out to it every morning! It just pumps me up and always gets the kids moving. Upbeat, clean, and totally sappy but I love it. Can't help it. Plus, in six years, the Biebs will still be around and Leah will of course love him so I'll need to know all the songs so we can go to the concert together.

ANYWAY, I told my mom to gear up because we were going to watch the movie. I asked her what she was expecting and she said, "I don't know, some sort of Miley Cyrus episode." I'm so glad those were her expectations because she ended up LOVING the movie. It was the opposite of what she was expecting and we watched it twice while she was here! She was 16 when the Beatles were really popular so she experienced a big musical movement and talked about how crazy the girls were back then...and how she was one of them. It was fun to hear her memories and feelings as we watched the girls in the movie cry, scream, and faint for Justin. At the end of the movie she said, "Wow I didn't realize that would be such an emotional roller coaster!" Soooooo, I figured she needed to spread the love and get my Dad to be a Belieber. That's why she got the movie for her birthday. That and also to remind her what we did while she was here!

Sadly all trips have to come to an end so Grandma had to leave. We had SUCH an enjoyable time compared to the last couple times she's come to help with the kids. It wasn't so tiring or chaotic. I don't know if I would have stayed sane through these past couple weeks with Clark working such crazy hours. Can't say enough thanks for all that she did. Until next time!

I'll leave you with a short video. The kids did this activity for about 15 minutes after a walk one morning. So cute.

Did You Know...

I'm so glad January is over. It's my least favorite month and seems to drag on forever. Coming down from the Christmas high is always hard too and of course I hate seeing Clark go back to work full steam into his busy time of year. So our house has been gloomy and sad.

HOWEVER...

Did you know my mom is coming out this week to spare us of our fatherless loneliness?? Yes she is! She was here last year at this time but one year ago it was still kind of crazy around these parts and we were still doing shift work. This time around we'll just get to enjoy the kids and hang out together. Maybe go and do things that I can never do alone because of the adult to child ratio. Anyway, very excited.

Did you know that, compared to last January/February, the weather has been so mild? One day it's freezing and the next day it's balmy, humid, and warm! On those days we ALWAYS go for a walk and sometimes (if I'm feeling up for the post-leaving-the-park-battle-and-screaming) we'll stop and swing at the park.

Caleb liked to stack and organize the rocks on the swing. Such a thinker...


Whereas the other two just wanted to fill the wagon up with rocks hoping I wouldn't be able to pull it home. That way they'd get to stay at the park forever!



Caleb builds, Zachary destroys. Most of the time it's really sad but luckily when Zachary dumped all of Caleb's rocks off the swing, Caleb joined him.


Nothing like feeling a little wind in your face! This kid loves to swing...


Did you know that Zachary gets super excited about helping me cook his dinner?? Here he is in his Flirty Apron...


Did you know that we had our first playdate with another set of triplets?? They are about nine months younger than our trio but everyone seemed to get along just fine. It's amazing how much change can take place that first year and a half. Luckily our little guests held their own in the toy department so there wasn't much fighting. Hopefully we'll have more of these playdates in the future!



Did you know that if you leave three toddlers alone with a magazine, this is what happens?? Guess I won't be reading through the BYU Winter Alumni magazine.


Did you know that Caleb is awesome at stacking his blocks? He makes the tallest towers and walks around with pride in his accomplishments (at least until Zachary finds him and destroys it)...


Did you know that our kids average 15 diapers/day?? Seriously. I wasn't planning on adding that factoid but everyday I'm just astounded by the amount and the fact that I'm sitting here blogging AND thinking about their diapers is pathetic.

Did you know that Clark and I went out to a monster truck rally/tractor pull last weekend?? Oh yes we did. It was actually a work event so many of his co-workers were there. It definitely felt weird cheering for a truck smashing a car. A first for me.


Did you know that Clark and I bought our Valentine's gifts over a month ago? In years past I've had to buy my own because Clark literally does not have time to run to the store or think about a gift. If he does have time, I'd rather him be home. So the Saturday before he started into his busy hours, we went to a store, split up with the babies, checked out separately, and will exchange gifts this weekend. He initially thought the idea was stupid but afterward said he was glad he got it taken care of. I guess I just didn't want to buy myself another king-sized Hersey bar again this year. :)

Did you know that I like February? It's short, sweet, full of love and hopes of Spring, and my favorite TV shows are going full force. Hopefully my Mom will put up with watching The Bachelor for a couple weeks while she's here.

Happy Love Week!

Three O'Clock...

I prefer not to post videos for my posts because they don't do much for my future blog book but it seems that video-taking is all I'm doing lately and I hate NOT to share!

Seriously though, these have to be shown. Around 3pm everyday, Leah becomes extremely slap happy and just about everything is funny to her. In addition to that, she tends to get more physical in the afternoon (weird, I know) but her new thing is tackling Zachary and Caleb from behind. This is all fun and games until she does it on the tile and someone ends up with a goose egg. The funny thing is that whoever got tackled is usually mad and trying to push her away and she thinks it's a game and laughs hysterically. It's good for me to witness and keeps me lighthearted. Reminds me not to take things so seriously during the day.

Point is, she really is the life of the party and always keeps everyone laughing. The first video we were blowing raspberries with our lips then near then end she heard a car. The second video speaks for itself. Guess we shouldn't fix that squeaky cupboard!

Stupidity Moment #2

At the trio's one-year-old doctor appointment, I gave them all suckers so they would stop crying after their immunizations. Stupidity moment #1.

My second moment of stupidity happened this past week. It was such a beautiful day outside, overcast, and warm. So I wanted to do an outdoor activity to take advantage of the weather. A friend of mine mentioned a fun sand-play area just north of here. So I loaded the kids and met her and her daughter that afternoon. However, after arriving we realized that the sand was wet...I guess it had rained the night before. Didn't know that. I hated the idea of turning around and going back home after making the drive, loading the kids, dealing with their hoopla, getting my gigantic stroller in and out of the van, etc... So I decided to make the best of it and let the kids run around anyway. I know, I always make it sound like such a big deal to go anywhere but some days, it just is. Just this morning we ran to the store and it was smooth and easy. So it all just depends.

They actually enjoyed poking the sand, running around, and feeling the sand on their feet but only for about ten minutes. That even included the time they spent at a fun little puddle. They were soaked and it was really windy so I imagine they were cold. Then Leah decided to rub sand in her eyes. Lovely. So she was done, crying, and wanting to leave. I had to spend time with each baby at the car trying to wipe them off so while I worked on Leah, the other two were having meltdowns in the sandbox thinking I was leaving them. Have you ever tried to wipe wet sand off three screaming babies? Well...it wasn't working and they were so mad at me. I was covered in sand and pained by the fact that there would be sand ALL over the car seats and car because I just couldn't get it off. Leah's eyes were all bloodshot and I'm sure they hurt. The stroller was covered in sand which subsequently got all over the seats and floor of the car (since I have to fit the stroller in perfectly between the front and back seats). I don't do well with messes. For example, I wipe their dinner table after every food item I offer them because I can't stand the layered, dry, sticky mess at the end of the meal. So all the sand EVERYWHERE was just killing me.

We did enjoy watching the kids and laughing at their fascination with the sand and water but unfortunately, I had to call it a day and ditch my friend after a very short play date. Her daughter was in worse shape than mine as far as being soaked and covered in sand! She told me that she used baby powder to dry the sand and wipe it right off. Genius. I have gobs of baby powder at home. Too bad I didn't have it with me.

Point is, not my best decision. It had potential to be fun but I think the wind made their wet clothes cold and Leah's eye rubbing sealed the deal.

Next time we'll make sure the sand is dry. :)




Now giving suckers to the kids while they played in the wet sand would have been an interesting combo. :) I'm sure my third moment of stupidity is soon to come.

Moving on.

Leah decided she was done with crawling and is a full-blown walker now. All in a week. I never thought walking could be so cute but she really is a sight to behold. Especially when she is jamming out to our Justin Bieber songs.

Here she is, in all her walking glory (while holding her dog clutch)... She was walking toward me so I counted to three and she gave me this look...


On Sunday when all three were dressed for church, it was the sweetest thing ever to see all of them so clean cut, hair combed, and walking around like little human beings. I had the same feelings when they were all crawling together. Just a moment of awe. This was the first Sunday she didn't have to try and crawl in a dress. I'm sure she was thrilled.


I have been feeling worried about them becoming more civilized as they approach 18 months. Like actually using a fork and eating from a bowl. Let's try to forget the fact that sometimes, before I catch them, they take chewed food out of their mouths and feed it to their neighbor. Oh boy. The fork is a long way off so I figured we'd start with bowls. After a good teaching session, this is what they apparently took from it.

We're still working on it. I only put diced fruit and pasta in the bowls. Those seem to be the safest and they have actually done well. It's just the after party that's a problem...




We've been dealing with a lot of pre-two-year-old behavior over here. They're not quite old enough to reason with, take away privileges, or keep in time-out, so I am constantly spouting off reprimand after reprimand. I try very hard to not yell while I'm correcting someone and some days I do great. But then there are the 'other' days when I feel like I might check into the loony bin. What it all boils down to is toy stealing. Can you believe that? I know most people think that since they are multiples they learn how to share very early. Well folks, this just isn't true. They are still normal individual toddlers who go into a screaming frenzy when a toy is taken. I do not understand the toddler phenomenon of needing a toy right when someone else seems interested in it. Then as the stealer gets the toy, said stealer doesn't want it anymore. Wow. I have come to believe that toddlers have three eyes: one on their toy, one on me to make sure I don't leave the room unexpectedly, and one on their surroundings. Caleb will seemingly be in his own world playing quietly then all the sudden be in the corner tackling Zachary for a truck. Doesn't sound so bad right? Well this starts about 5 minutes after they get up in the morning and ends when I put them down at night. ALL DAY LONG. I know it won't get any easier either so I'm just choosing my battles and enjoying the ride into full toddlerhood. Seriously, the loony bin might be in my near future.

There are moments, though rare, that the kids are all doing the same activity....peacefully. Like looking out the back window at the steam coming out of the dryer vent on a cold day.

Thank you dryer vent for a couple minutes of peace. Best gift you've ever given me.

Pre-Dinner Shenanigans...

Oh Miss Leah. Always causing happy trouble. We're just glad she's back to her old self and feeling better! The oldest video I've taken of the trio in the table was a little less than a year ago. They happened to be in the same order and waiting for me to feed them dinner also! However, things weren't always so happy around mealtime. Gosh...crazy to look back on but I definitely prefer them poking and playing with each other than screaming at me!

It Reared It's Ugly Head...

Rewind back to pre-Thanksgiving...

One week before leaving, both me and Clark were down and out with head colds and sore throats. Could barely get off the couch all weekend. Luckily we tag-teamed and got through it. We recovered well enough for our trip and just as expected, the kids were coughing and sniffing as soon as we arrived.

This worsened significantly over the two weeks and I'm sure the dry western climate didn't help at all. The snot was getting out of control and no one was sleeping or happy in general.

We were anxious to get home so everyone could rest and recover. Unfortunately this never happened. Two days after returning home, Caleb spiked a very high fever. Combine it with dark green snot and we were worried. Doctors thought a bacterial sinus infection of some sort so he started on antibiotics. The fever didn't break for another three days so obviously it was just viral. We were glad for that. Of course he got that weird post-virus rash all over his body which was further evidence that his fever wasn't bacteria-related.

Finally....out of the woods. I can handle the kids being sick but when the fever comes, I get pretty freaked.

One day after a broken fever, all the kids were immunized for their 15-month appointment. The next day Zachary had a fever. He has had post-shot fevers in the past so I didn't worry. Then Leah got the fever...and their fevers kept getting higher and higher. 104 was the highest. This lasted for FIVE DAYS!! We had them checked a couple times and all the doctor could find were red throats. No ear infections, no strep, no flu. So we just had to wait it out...miserably. I went through almost a whole bottle of Tylenol and Benadryl up to this point. Not because I love to drug my children but because it was absolutely necessary.

Ok so Leah had a nose surgery scheduled and if her fever didn't break at least two full days prior to surgery, she wasn't going to have the procedure. This was the procedure to fix the choanal atresia in her nose. LUCKILY the next morning (two mornings before surgery) she was fever free and remained that way until the surgery so we were good to go. Zachary's fever broke as well so all babies were back to normal temps. If we could only have gotten rid of the cold symptoms too!

Leah's surgery went flawlessly and her post-op care was pretty minimal. Saline and Nasonex twice a day! I can handle that. She was pretty tired and out of it for the 24 hours following but soon came around and was back to her old self. The surgery was pretty non-invasive. Doc just stuck a drill a little up her left nostril and chipped away at the bone covering her passageway. No bleeding, no cutting, no stitches.

Then Christmas came and we were all feeling pretty good about things...hoping to finally get over all the sickness.

Then the wheezing started. Leah's cough had worsened and she started wheezing on New Year's Eve. I called the Pedi just to make sure there wasn't anything more I could be doing to help her out and they actually insisted I come in. Apparently they take wheezing pretty seriously. We rushed to the doc before they closed and the doctor took a listen to her breathing. Leah's ears looked good and she wasn't running a temp. The doc swabbed her nose just to make sure....

but then she returned with the results and three letters I never wanted to hear...

R.S.V.

Really???? Seriously??? Ugh! We were so careful last year but apparently our efforts weren't quite good enough this time around. Heaven knows where Leah got it but all of us in that room knew the boys would soon start wheezing also. All I could think is that I'm so grateful this didn't happen last year with the babies' lungs being so underdeveloped. Not that RSV at anytime is ideal. RSV is very contagious and frankly I couldn't believe it was just in that little tiny piece of snot they got from Leah's nose. It really is inevitable that the boys would soon start showing symptoms because no matter how hard we try to incubate a sickness, they share toys, cough and sneeze near one another, wipe their nose then poke someone's eye, etc... Inevitable.

I've since learned that RSV is much nastier than I realized. I knew it was bad but there are long-lasting residual effects from the virus, the sickness can last up to a month, and can turn severe very quickly. Basically, RSV is a REALLY bad respiratory infection that affects the lungs. As a result, kids aren't able to breathe well and often can't get the oxygen they need. They lose their appetites, can't sleep, cough and cough and cough, and sometimes they turn blue from such rapid, shallow breathing. That's when they end up in the hospital from bronchiolitis and pneumonia.

Long story short, it's nasty. The doc had already seen three positive RSV tests that morning so that's why she thought we should check.

Alright so what's the treatment??

Not much. Just let it run the course, no antibiotics, and Albuterol treatments 3x daily to make breathing more comfortable. We have to monitor very closely how they're doing to catch anything right away. Right now, fortunately, everything seems pretty maintained and Leah's wheezing has even improved.

We're on baby lock down for the time being so we haven't been going anywhere. Luckily the weather has been decent so we leave the doors open and the kids can go in and out. That has saved my sanity!



Here's Caleb sporting his bird mask. He's the only one that will remotely tolerate it. The others are quite the wrestlers. Needless to say, we've been watching a LOT of Baby Einstein just to get them to sit still.


Our prayers go out to other little people in our family diagnosed with RSV. It certainly is getting around and we hope to be rid of it sooner than later!