With preschool comes sickness...

Well, the twins promptly got sick their first week of preschool... They were only there on Tues and Thurs morning, and by Thurs night they were both congested. I think this was the first time they have been sick in over a year! Of course they shared the cold with everyone else... It seems to have hit me the hardest. It all settled right down into my chest, and I feel awful. The kids are all fine now. It amazes me how quickly they bounce back! I will probably be sick for two weeks!

Speaking of preschool, they are doing awesome! They both cried the first 2 days (me too), but yesterday Diz managed to hold it together. I could tell she wanted to cry, though. Her little lip was trembling, and she was blinking her eyes rapid fire to hold the tears back. Meanwhile, Cam let loose and laid in the floor in a puddle of tears. I am crossing my fingers for NO tears tomorrow... Wish me luck!

Not much else to report today. Just ready for everyone to be well again!

M-I-Z....

When we moved to Missouri, we dove head first into the local culture. A big part of that culture is The University of Missouri. Last year, Mizzou made the move into the SEC, so we purchased season tickets for football. D and I both had high hopes that we could create a family tradition of sorts, and raise little girls that love football. He was worried that Avery would get bored at the games and it would be a big waste. Boy, was he pleasantly surprised! This girl LOVES football. All last season, she asked questions about first downs and penalties and field goals. Now she is an old pro!

We kicked off our second season in the SEC last Saturday. This year, a friend of D's also picked up season tickets, so now we have some friends to tailgate and attend the games with! I think you will be able to see in the pictures below that our home opener was a HOT one, and this week will be no different.

I'm looking forward to a great football season and making more memories with our biggest little girl!

Naps make me a better mom

The twins started part time preschool this week. They will only go on Tuesday and Thursday from 9-1 and, really, the only reason we enrolled them is because they desperately need socialization. They have gotten too used to the world I have created for them at home, and its to the point that any change in their routine or surroundings sends them into hysterics. They freaked out the other day simply because I moved my cell phone charger from its usual spot on the counter! And don't even get me started on Camille's fear of hair...

Anyway, an added bonus of preschool is that I got a NAP Tuesday! What a thing of beauty it was! I'm pretty sure that 45 minute nap transformed me into mother of the year, because yesterday we had the best day ever. I took the twins to gymnastics at 9:15 and since we had about an hour to kill between the end of class and when we needed to hit the road for our CSA pick up, I decided to take all 3 itty bitty's to IHOP. By myself. I won't even pretend like I wasn't terrified. But everyone did so well! The twins sat in booster seats like big girls and just took in the world around them. Maren nursed and slept happily in the Beco while the rest of us ate. Camille and Elizabeth loved their pancakes (and added ketchup--yuck).

While we were eating, we were approached by 3 different sets of adult twins that wanted to chat. I kept thinking about how cool it was that they were all just hanging out, having breakfast together on a random Wednesday morning. I hope my girls are always that close.

I can't even count the number of people that commented on how well behaved my girls were. It made me feel so good! I guess I need not be scared of taking them places by myself anymore. 

After breakfast, we headed out to the farm (an hour drive each way) to pick up our box of produce for the week. The girls helped me fill up our box and didn't whine at all during the drive. I am a very lucky mama.

Oh, hai there!!

I guess it's been a while, eh? Life has changed so much since I last posted... We moved to Missouri, Avery is in 2nd grade, the twins are 2, and we have added another beautiful little girl to the family!

I just discovered the Blogger app, so I am hopeful that I will be able to update more often now! Plus, I will have a tiny bit of free time when the twins start preschool on Sept 3rd.

More to come...

AW Alert!

Camille has made AMAZING progress recently! She has been in PT since January, and she is finally starting to build some strength. We bought her some "hip helper" shorts, and I swear, these things are magical! All of the sudden, she can lock her knees and bear weight on her legs! She is also finally showing some interest in moving. It's actually to the point where she is getting frustrated, which is such a good sign. before, she was content to lay back or just be held, but now she really wants to crawl around like her sister.

The PT told me that when she first saw Camille, she was terrified that she had Cerebral Palsy or something equally terrifying. But after working with her for 3 months, she no longer thinks there is any underlying issue causing her delays. Our theory is that she didn't move enough in the womb, and thus didn't have the same type of muscle development that Elizabeth had. And it is true--every ultrasound I had (and there were probably 30 of them) showed that Camille was crammed way down into my cervix, curled up in a little ball. Meanwhile, Dizzy was bouncing around/kicking Cam in the head/showing off for us. I am really hopeful that Cam will be all caught up in the next few months. Cross your fingers for us! I have been fighting with Early Steps and my insurance company to get her in to see an Occupational Therapist and a Developmental Pediatrician, but now I am hoping that she won't even need them.

As for Miss Dizzy, she is doing great! She has been cruising for months, and is now standing without holding onto anything. I bet she will be walking soon. I wouldn't be surprised if it was before 11 months. Her personality has also started to emerge more, and she is SO funny! She is also a bit of a bulldozer, and often crawls right over Camille to get to something (usually food).

Avery is still the ever helpful big sis. She is also going on her first plane ride today! We took her up in a helicopter for her 4th birthday, and had planned to do a plane ride on her 5th. But when we got to the airport, we were informed that the plane was "acting funny" and wouldn't be going up again that day. She was really bummed and has patiently waited for a year and a half. I am sad that I won't be there to see it, but D promised to take tons of pictures!

Time to get back to the real world... I will update on our move/house hunt later. And, of course, pictures of the plane ride!

I knew I would be a blogger fail...

Ah, well, life gets in the way. What can I say?

Things are moving so quickly. Avery is 6 and the twins will be 10 months next week. Why does my life have to pass so quickly?

There was big news in our house over the holiday season. David accepted an Assistant Professor position at the University of Missouri! So, assuming all goes as planned, we will be making the big move sometime in mid-June. I am excited and terrified at the same time.

All the kids are doing well. Avery is performing wonderfully in school, and has made many friends. Elizabeth is crawling all over the place, and dangerously close to walking. Her personality is really starting to form, and she makes me laugh on a daily basis. Camille gets stronger every day it seems. She has been in PT for a few months now, and just yesterday she stood up for the first time!

Lots more to update on, but little time. Hope to carve out some time tonight to get into all the dirty details...

Already off to a bad start...

OK, so I am a bad blogger. This is why I never started a blog before!

Anyway, lots to update on... It has been a bit of a rough month. The twins caught RSV, and a double ear infection (for both) soon followed. Now they have moved onto bigger and better things--namely, a gastrointestinal virus. Fun times! Somewhere in the middle of all that, Avery spiked a random 104.5 fever. I am starting to think I live in a sick house.

At the babies' last well visit, it was determined that C needed to be evaluated by a cranio-facial surgeon. That has come and gone, and she is now the proud owner of a brand new pink helmet! She has been wearing it for about a week now, and seems to have adjusted just fine. She was also referred to early steps for a developmental evaluation. They found that she is behind in gross motor, but is actually ahead of schedule in everything else. She scored 97 (out of 100) in cognitive ability! Woohoo! So she will begin working with a physical therapist to address the motor delays, and hopefully she will be caught up in no time.

Thanksgiving was a success! MIL, SIL, BIL and nephew came down for about 4 days, and I think it went pretty well. I made a totally rockin' turkey that didn't even make anyone sick! I was so proud of myself!

D is (hopefully) in the home stretch of his PhD program and has several campus interviews coming up in December. We are excited to see where the next chapter of life will take us.