We are 5 months old!

The babies turned 5 months old on Friday.  It feels like we have had them for so much longer than five months. Life is still crazy and chaotic but we do have a pretty decent schedule.  Reid got his doc band on Thursday.  He doesn't love it but he is tolerating it okay.  His head is really flat on the back right side from his tortacollis (tight neck muscles) which caused him to constantly look to his right.  Physical therapy helped the tortacollis but not enough that his head would round out without assistance.  He are having it wrapped next Friday (March 15) which is basically like having it painted.  We are going this Friday to choose a template.  I hope they have an Aggie theme!

Kellen weighs 13lbs, 6oz.  Reid weighs 12lbs, 6oz.  Annabelle weighs 14lbs, 6oz.  Two pounds is a big difference when it is 15% of your body weight because Annabelle seems HUGE compared to Reid.  All 3 wear 0-3 month clothing.  Annabelle is in size 2 diapers and the boys are in size 1.  All 3 are good night sleepers but Reid and Annabelle have been waking up the past 3 nights.  Reid because of his helmet and I'm not sure about Annabelle.  Luckily they go back to sleep fairly quickly and we usually don't have to go in their room at all.  Kellen is the best night sleeper and Annabelle is the best napper.  All 3 go to sleep without a problem which is a huge blessing.  We just lay them down and they go to sleep.  Reid is still the most expressive with his face and his smile lights up his whole face.  Kellen is the most stingy with smiles so getting one from him feels extra special!  All 3 smile when you peek over their cribs and are about to get them out. It's one of my favorite parts of the day!  No matter how bad it's going, and trust me, it does get bad, their little smiles melt my heart every time.  Annabelle is the loudest by far and doesn't have a middle ground.  She is either quiet and calm or a total nut.

Reid has a few nicknames....Smalls and Reiders are the most frequently used.
Annabelle is called Annabelle-belle, Girl Baby (so original) and Cheeks.
Kellen doesn't really have any nicknames yet other than Kel.  I'm sure he will eventually.

Kellen has been rolling over for a little over a week now.  He will only go from stomach to back but he tries so hard to go from back to stomach.  He'll get it soon enough.  Annabelle has rolled over once from stomach to back.  Poor Reid hates tummy time so he usually just lays his little head down and cries.  He has no clue that he could even attempt to roll over.

Their favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear and they become entranced when I read it, which is at least 3x a day. :)

Barrett is a great big brother and he has fun with the babies.  He entertains them by singing and dancing and making "gas" sounds on his arm which he finds hysterical and swears the babies love it. LOL  It's hard to believe he is 5 years old and will start kinder in the fall.  He is playing soccer and baseball again this season.  He makes me laugh every day and has such a great imagination.  I love him so much.

Boob Flu

I am finally feeling 100% again.  Last week, I had mastitis.  What is mastitis?  I have dubbed it "boob flu" but it is basically an infection in a breastfeeding mom's mammary gland(s).  On Tuesday night I started feeling pretty bad and had some soreness on my right side.  I was really achy and had a hard time sleeping too.  On Wednesday morning, I didn't feel any better so while feeding the troops I researched on my phone and diagnosed myself with mastitis.  I had all the symptoms.  Aches, shivering, fever, hurting boob, etc.  I've had friends that have had it before so I knew that's what it was. Thankfully (after several calls trying to get into a primary care doctor) I was able to get my ob/gyn to call in an antibiotic for me and I started those on Wednesday afternoon and will finish them tomorrow!  I'm even more thankful that two friends, Jeniffer and Angela, were able to come help with the 11am feed.  Mark took the afternoon off and helped out and Mark's parents came that night to help with the bedtime feed.  My fever was as high as 101.3 and those times were the worst.  Once my fever came down I would feel a bit better but then it would spike again.  At points, I could barely move without crying.  It seems like a cruel joke for a nursing/pumping mother to get this!  What do you do??  There are still babies to be fed and loved on, bottles to be washed, laundry to be done, 5 year old to be fed, milk to be pumped, etc.!  I'm so blessed to have friends around with serving hearts that can help out in a pinch.  Thank you!  I'm praying I never get this again.

Laundry room organization

I consider myself a fairly organized person.  With 4 kids, I've felt this urge to purge and to be more organized.  We decided to start with the laundry room but since I needed Mark's help with a lot of it (Elfa installation) and he had a big project due at work, I sidetracked with other projects....I've gone through all of B's clothes and shoes and sorted out the items that are too small (stored now for K and R) and purged all of his socks that mysteriously lost their mate.  I reorganized the desk drawers and cleaned out under the kitchen sink.  Last week, Kate helped me go through the game room and Barrett's room.  I literally dumped out every bin or bucket of toys into a huge pile and sorted everything.  I threw out a full trash bag of junky stuff.  Don't tell Barrett.  I have somewhat of an obsession once I get my mind set on something!  It drives Mark crazy.  :)  Back to the laundry room...not only do I do the laundry there but we come and go through this room as it connects our house to the garage so we use it often.  Of course, whenever I decide to get organized I go to the Container Store which is probably my favorite store. It's definitely in my top 5.  I just love it so much!  We decided to do Elfa shelving and there is no better time than now when it is on sale for 30% off!  We have Elfa in our master closet, the nursery closet and we have plenty of freestanding Elfa drawers.  We really love the versatility and functionality and knew we couldn't go wrong.  We also decided to repaint.  We wanted a slightly lighter color so I went to Sherwin Williams and bought a lighter rose color.  Turns out it was PINK.  Imagine little girl, princess room pink.  It was awful.  I had cut in most of the room and painted around both doors before we decided we hated it.  I went to Lowe's and asked them to match the color we had originally painted the room in 2009.  Thankfully they were able to do that and so I repainted the pink areas and gave the whole room a fresh coat of paint.  I also repainted all the trim.  WHEN did I do this you ask?  During nap times for the past week or so.  Mark installed the Elfa on lunch breaks and evenings.  

I should have taken "before" pictures before I cleared out all the stuff on the shelf across the top.  Picture it completely filled with stuff.

Another "before" picture but again, imagine the shelf totally filled with stuff and the paint stuff not on top of the washer, however, there was other stuff there.

We stacked our front loaders and this is now to the right of the washer and dryer.  We have so much more space!

This is to the left.  We put in a hanging rod so we could hang clothes as they come out of the dryer.

The top area.

This is the lower area to the right of the washer and dryer.  There are two basket areas for each kiddo.  One for their backpack (diaper bag for trio) and below it there is one for their shoes!  The little white things are name tags for each kiddo, color coded of course!  And a place to hang bike helmets!

This is below the clothes bar on the left.  More shelves and two drawers!

Our key/charger organizer from Pottery Barn.  We've had this for a while but it just seems way better now that everything else is better!

View from the house door.

View of the left side.

On the back wall to the left of the washer and dryer.  So perfect for cleaners!

We just love it and we both find ourselves walking in there just to admire how great it is!  We don't get out much. :)  Next up on my to do list: garage reorganization, craft room purge and guest room closet reorganization. I'm sure I'll think up some other to do after that because I clearly don't have enough going on.  LOL!   It's like I try to create more work for myself.

4 month well visit

It's hard to believe we have triplets and it's hard to believe they are 4 months old!  They had their 4 month well visit last week.  It is really difficult to take all 3 babies anywhere alone and especially to the doctor!  We hired a nanny about 3 weeks ago to help us on Thursdays and Fridays.  She is AWESOME and we love her so much already.  Since their appointment was on a Friday, she was able and willing to go with me.  Here are their stats:

Kellen - 11 lb., 15 oz and 22.5 inches.  For preemie babies, he is in the 45th percentile for height, 68th percentile for weight and 90th for head size.  For regular babies, he is less than 1% for height, 1% for weight and 41% for head size.

Reid - 11 lb, 6 oz and 23.5 inches.  For preemie babies, he is 78% for height, 54% for weight and 88% for head size.  For regular babies, he is 2% for height, less than 1% for weight and 33% for head size.

Annabelle - 12 lb, 13 oz and 22.9 inches.  For preemie babies, she is 62% for height, 81% for weight and 55% for head size.  For regular babies, she is 3% for height, 21% for weight and 22% for head size.

Because they are preemies we always get both sets of stats and we talk about things in "real" age and "adjusted" age.  Adjusted age just means what would their age be had I carried them full term.  Overall they are doing really well.  They are just slightly behind their real age developmentally but are ahead based on their adjusted age.  Reid's torticollis is almost totally better thanks to his weekly physical therapy.  However, he still has flattening of his head on the right side because of the torticollis so he will most likely end up with a doc band (helmet to form his skull into a round shape).  We are going to make an appointment with Cranial Tech soon to have him evaluated there.  Annabelle has a slight flattening on her right side so we are going to work on getting her neck stretched out and changing her position more to hopefully help it.  Annabelle's tear duct is still blocked and if it doesn't open by 6 months it will have to be probed to open it.  Ouch!  Both Reid and Annabelle still have reflux which is treated with Zantac and Nexium, respectively.  Zantac did not work for her at all!  Kellen is rocking and rolling with no issues.  Lucky guy has no reflux, didn't need ear molds, has a perfectly round head, didn't need his tongue clipped from being tongue tied like Annabelle and Reid (and Barrett as an infant!) did.  He is just rolling along.

It is really amazing to see each baby's personality starting to develop.  Kellen is the most chill of the babies.  He loves his hands and will rub them together and stare at them for long periods of time.  We always ask him if he is devising an evil plan!  When he is ready for bed, he starts whimpering and immediately calms down when we start swaddling him.  He loves his sleep and is usually the first to sleep and the last to wake up.  He always seems to have lint and dirt in his hands which we cannot figure out.  It's gross and I feel like I constantly clean his hands!  He loves the TV.  He will try to turn his head from anywhere to find it.  He can rotate his body on the floor to get to where he can watch the TV.  And most the time, it is just on the Christian music or Classical music station, so there isn't anything to really watch!  He loves it though.  Lately, he has not been wanting to drink his bottles and he tosses his head back and forth and chews on the bottle nipple.  We have to swaddle him for most feeds which seems to help.  He is adorable and loves to smile and "talk".

Reid's nicknames are "Smalls" and "Reiders".  He has the best eyes and facial expressions.  He seems to always be alert and just absorbing everything.  He has definitely had some serious meltdowns but he is a good baby.  He is the worst sleeper of the three and often wakes and tosses his head around and then goes back to sleep.  He is usually the first to wake from bedtime and from naps.  He smiles and laughs quite a bit and it is precious.  He adores Mark's dad who can almost always get him babbling and laughing.  He loves to snuggle and probably won't be thrilled when he has to get his doc band helmet thing.

Annabelle is definitely our little diva.  She is loud and will definitely be heard!  She is full throttle on everything and has no middle ground.  It's either calm or complete chaos.  She has had the best meltdowns by far.  She was the first to start smiling and is always so alert.  She adores Mark and if she hears him she looks for him and if he walks by she tracks him until he is out of sight.  She has him wrapped right around her little finger too.  She attacks the bottle like she has never eaten at each feed.  Clearly, she does not miss a meal!  She cannot keep her pacifier in her mouth to save her life and we often play the "nook nook" game, as Barrett calls it. He always called pacifiers "nooks" or "nookies" so the nook nook game involves repeatedly putting her pacifier in her mouth when she continually spits it out.  It's almost like she sucks on it so violently that she can't keep it in!  She is such a beautiful girl and she will absolutely rule the roost with her brothers.

We thank God daily for the blessings of our 4 children.  We are so undeserving of this life we have.

Kellen, Reid, Annabelle.  Their onesies say a thompson-malhiot production 2nd edition Vol. 1, 2, and 3, respectively.  A precious gift from our dear friend Kandace.

How did that happen?

The babies were scheduled for their Synagis shots today (helps to prevent RSV).  Mark has a big project due at work on Monday so my sweet mother in law Sheron went with me to Medical City.  After I dropped her back off at her house I realized my gas light was on so I stopped at the new RaceTrac on Renner Rd.  I popped my gas thing, got out of the car with my credit card, left the car door open, and started pumping gas.  I heard the car door shut but didn't think much of it because it was really windy and I figured the wind blew it shut.  I walk back to the driver door and open it.  Except it didn't open. It was locked! WHAT?!  How is it locked?!  I didn't lock it!  I see the car keys sitting on the driver seat and my phone sitting on the console.  I quickly scan the locks of the other doors.  All locked.  Panic.  The babies are all in the middle row...thankfully sleeping soundly.  Hesitantly, I run inside the station.  I could see the car the whole time and the doors were locked so no one could get in.  I called Mark and told him what happened.  He had a call scheduled at 1pm plus I knew it would take at least 20 minutes for him to get there with extra keys.  The gas station attendant called a locksmith...25 minutes. Not gonna work.  So I called 911 and the Plano Fire Department arrived within 10 minutes and got to work.  They wedged open the top of the passenger side door and used this stick thing to try and push the unlock button.  No dice.  They moved to the driver side and tried the same thing but it wouldn't work!  I think they were unable to get enough force with the stick thing they were using.  Finally, they decided to try and push the unlock button on the fob on the driver side seat.  It took about 10 minutes but they finally got it!!  Sweet relief.  The babies were totally fine.  Annabelle started to cry when I mobbed her with kisses but quickly went back to sleep.  I'll never again get gas without having my keys in my hand.  I still have no idea how the door got locked but I am so thankful for the Plano Fire Department and that my babies are ok!  Had it been hot outside I would have busted a window myself using the fire extinguisher on the gas pump at the station.  Thankfully I didn't have to do that either.  Praising God for cool weather, helpful firefighters and healthy babies!

Pictures from the Hospital

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Just a few pics from our stay in the hospital...

Night Nanny Kristin

One of the most consistent pieces of advice we received while pregnant with multiples was "get a night nanny."  I was a bit hesitant at first because I'm constantly concerned about finances and knew I wouldn't be working at all and I like challenges and thought we can do this ourselves.  After much budget analysis, thought and prayer we decided to go ahead and hire a night nanny three nights a week.  We hired the same one that my friend Kandace used for her triplets.  She came for the first time the first night we brought the babies home from the NICU.  I can sum her up with one word: Awesome.  A lot of people, myself included, use the word awesome all the time for various things but she truly is awesome, a God-send.  She came around 9 or 10pm that first night and stayed through the night.  She came armed with a binder, spiral and charts for each baby to track how much they eat, wet or poopy diapers, medications if any, and special notes.  She sent us to bed not long after arriving and getting the lay of the land.  We woke up the next morning (I still woke during the night to pump) to find that she had organized all of our bottle supplies, she washed and folded all the baby laundry, she fed the babies every 3 hours during the night and made detailed notes in her spiral about each feeding and baby so that we would know what happened, she made bottles, washed bottles, washed pump stuff, etc.  She is amazing.  It's overwhelming bringing one baby home, let alone three preemies.  She has been such an incredible blessing for our family.  She is one of the kindest, most caring people I know.  She has taught us so much about multiples, swaddling, scheduling, which products are good, etc.  I really can't say enough good things about her.  We will be losing her soon as her next set of triplets have arrived and will be going home any time now and we are so sad.  She is like our Mary Poppins and now the weather is changing and she has to go. :(  However, as of January 20th, our precious babies have been sleeping all night long from approximately 7:30pm until 6:45am.  Yahoo!  We have had a few episodes of them waking and fussing for a bit but they are doing so great!!  We sleep trained Barrett by 8 weeks old but there is no way we could have sleep trained these guys without Kristin.  It is just a totally different world with multiples.

To all of you who have contributed to our "nanny" fund, we cannot thank you enough.  We are truly humbled by your kindness and generosity.  You have made our lives so much easier by allowing us extra rest, which I know for me contributes to my ability to feed these three and to just function like a normal human and for Mark's ability to be productive at work.  We are so grateful for each of you and cannot express adequately in words how much it has meant to us to have her.

I titled this post Night Nanny Kristin because that is what Barrett calls her.  Every time.  Not Kristin, but Night Nanny Kristin. :)

If you get pregnant with multiples or are having trouble with your singleton baby, call me and I'll give you her contact info.  You will not regret it!

Breastfeeding multiples

Before I start this post, let it be known that I am not a doctor, nurse, lactation consultant or La Leche league member.  I am a mom who breastfed her first born for 15 months and has been breastfeeding the trio since their arrival on October 1, 2012.  This post is to document our journey and maybe help someone else in their journey.

Prior to B's birth, I hoped to breastfeed but obviously had no idea what it would be like or if I'd be able to.  He was born on a Wednesday and I breastfed him every 3 hours around the clock.  We came home from the hospital on Saturday and my milk still wasn't in so I started to worry that it wouldn't come in!  It seemed like so many people told me they didn't make enough milk or any milk.  I sent Mark to GNC to get the mother's milk tea and everything like that.  Barrett was also not too interested in eating and he never seemed to get a good latch.  I had a pump so that Saturday night I pumped for the first time.  I did it because I was concerned that he wasn't latching on and that my body would think I wasn't intending to breastfeed and thus, stop producing milk.  The next morning (after attempting to nurse him during the night) I pumped again and there it was....precious liquid gold.  Yahoo!  We had to take Barrett to the pedi that Monday and once there the doctor diagnosed him as tongue-tied, meaning the skin under his tongue was too tight and was connected too close to the end of his tongue.  We took him straight to the ENT and had it snipped.  Ouch!  Immediately he latched on and started inhaling milk.  Yahoo again!  From then on things were pretty easy for us.  There were definitely the aches and pains that go with nursing (I'll spare you the details) but for the most part we were good to go.  I had every intention of going back to work full time so I always pumped and nursed him.  I froze all my pumped milk because I knew I would need it once returning to work.  Turns out I only went back to full time work for 6 weeks and from then on only worked part time.  I think (again not an expert) that because I had pumped and nursed him since his birth pretty much that my body just kept making milk which means I kept pumping for relief.  I think I finally stopped pumping around 10-11 months and still had enough frozen for him to get through 15 months of nursing and pumped milk on my work days.  I still have a few frozen bags in the deep freezer that are just for nostalgia at this point!

So now I'm pregnant with triplets.  Of course I will try to breastfeed them.  First, my sweet friend Kandace breastfed her triplets for a year so I knew it "could" be done.  She was and is an inspiration to me.  Thank you friend.  Second, I knew there was a high likelihood they'd be born early and would need every extra advantage that they could get.  Third, people say to me all the time "I can't believe you are breastfeeding triplets" to which I reply "I can't believe you think I'm going to buy formula for triplets when God has given me the ability to feed them for free."  I am a budget girl!  Fourth, I like a challenge.  Just being honest.

Within three hours of the babies' birth I was on the pump.  My dear friend Priscilla grabbed my pump from my house and brought it to the hospital because I was frantic about getting on the pump!  I failed to remember that of course the hospital has pumps.  Duh.  So anyways, I'm on the pump within 3 hours of their birth.  I pumped every 3 hours like clockwork.  I would get like the tiniest millimeter of colostrum after pumping for 30 minutes!  It was terrible!  It was painful and discouraging because I was hardly getting anything.  I kept thinking maybe I won't make milk this time because they were born so early, I had c-section, my body forgot what to do...every negative thought entered my mind.  And of course, I'm exhausted, recovering from surgery, worrying about my NICU babies and my big boy at home, missing my husband but I stuck with it and pumped every 3 hours for at least 30-45 minutes from Monday night until the wee hours of Thursday morning when finally my milk came in!  Praise God! Sweet relief!! At least mental relief, not physical relief of course because pumping is not fun and is not painless.  I took a picture and texted Mark at 3am and said "MILK!!!!"  I was discharged from the hospital the Saturday after they were born and gladly rented the hospital pump.  It's like the Ferrari of breast pumps.  I continued pumping every 3 hours for a long time.  I can't even count the number of times I've pumped in the car on the way to the NICU, the way to the Mavs game, the way home from various places.  I have an extension cord in the car that plugs in at the back and I set the pump on the console, wear my hands free pump bra and cover up with my nursing cover.  I'm pretty sure I'd definitely get out of a speeding ticket if I ever got pulled over while pumping!  I finally started pumping every 4 hours at the beginning of January when we moved the babies to a 4 hour feeding schedule.  This was more out of necessity and scheduling.  I only pump once during the night now.  Must.get.some.sleep.

I also breastfeed the babies.  Kellen is the best nurser.  Annabelle was the strongest from the get go but she and Reid were both tongue-tied and we just had that taken care of in January and so they still have some trouble going from bottle to breast.  And honestly sometimes its just easier to pump because I do it when I'm feeding all of them.  If not, then I have to nurse them, then still pump so it's double the time.  I can rarely double nurse them now because they are getting too big and squirmy!  It was cool though when I could do that.

Right now they are eating a little more than 90 ounces per day.  I do not think it's physically possible for me to keep up with that demand.  Thankfully I have about 1,040 ounces in the deep freezer so we'll start thawing milk as soon as they pass me up.  I anticipate that being in the next 3-5 days!  Breastfeeding seems to be all about supply and demand.  Using the pump, I tricked my body early on to think it was feeding frequently and for lengthy periods, so I kept producing more.  That allowed me to build up a huge reserve while they weren't eating as much.

It's pretty stressful and daunting when I think about trying to keep up with them.  I've had many breakdowns about it and the thought of not being able to provide for them.  Especially on days when I don't seem to produce as much.  I get very discouraged.  Luckily I have Mark and great friends (in real life and on facebook) to remind me and encourage me!  I repeatedly have to remind myself that I'm doing the best I can and that's all I can do.

Other stuff I have noticed....every mom wants to lose weight after having a baby, including me!  I was in great shape before I got pregnant with them and man did that pregnancy take a toll on my body.  And now I have 4 kids, a husband and a dog!  I definitely don't have a lot of time to work out.  A few weeks ago I decided to really focus on my diet so for a few days I ate salads, super healthy stuff and cut out the snacks.  Big mistake, my milk supply dropped significantly.  Now, I definitely still eat pretty healthy but have realized I cannot cut calories.  I have to snack, I have to eat hearty meals, otherwise I just don't make enough milk.  Does it suck? Well, not really, I mean I like to eat!  But yes it sucks to know that I want to have my pre-baby body back but really can't do much about it and still feed these three.  So I tell myself it's a season (actually Kate reminds me - thank you, love you).  There will be time for running half marathons again and all that (well maybe there won't be "time" but you get my point).  But for right now, my job is to nourish these babies and I'll do that as best I can.  So don't make comments or jokes if you see me, k?  I'm doing the best I can!  I had one friend within a month after me having birth (I always say having birth since I had a c-section and didn't really do anything other than lay there) say "wow, I thought you'd be like this (holding up her pinky finger) after breastfeeding those 3 babies."  Um, no, I'm not but thanks for that.  LOL.  I'm sure she didn't mean it like I took it.  Postpartum hormones. Sensitive subject.  Oh and for all you moms that breastfeed and it just sucks the weight right off of you, I am envious.  That has not been my experience at all.

I also drink a ton of water.  A ton.  At least a gallon a day.  Sometimes I forget to drink enough and notice a drop in supply.  So I beat myself about it for a bit and then chug some water!

In summary, I am confident that if you want to breastfeed you can.  I know there are women that cannot produce, have to go back to work, choose not to, take medications that don't allow for breastfeeding, etc.  I'm just saying that if you want to, you can!  Does it take a ton of work and huge commitment? YES.  Is it hard? YES.  Is it painful? YES (not every time though).  I mean, seriously, tugging on the "girls" all day is not super fun.  Do I want to cry when I think it will be at least a year before I sleep through the night again? YES!  Is it worth it? Without a doubt, 100%, YES.  It feels amazing to know that my babies are all over 11 pounds right now because of me.  It is so awesome.  I am committed and determined to do the best I can for them.  And if they use up all the frozen supply and I have to supplement with formula, I know I'll be upset about it but I also know that I'm doing the best I can.

Reprocessing

One thing I didn't really anticipate about having triplets or just another baby, was explaining breastfeeding to a 4, now 5 year old.  When Barrett first saw me pumping, this was how the conversation went:
B: What are you doing?
Me: Pumping milk for the babies.
B: The milk is in that yellow thing? (the pump)
Me: No, the milk is in my body?
B: Where?
Me: Uh, in my boobs.
B: (with the biggest eyes ever) I didn't know girls had milk in their boobs!
Me: (thinking oh dear he's going to go to school and tell all his girlfriends this) Well, after mommies have babies they have milk in their boobs.  But your friends at school don't, this is just family talk, etc.
B: Okay mom.

So that somehow turned into "boobing" so when I'm going to feed the babies he'll say "mom are you going to boob one of them? or are you going to double boob them?"  Etc.  Funny stuff.

Since the babies have been born Barrett has been very interested in his stuffed animal babies....in particular the two monkeys Frank and Fletcher.  Frank is 100 and Fletcher is 0.  They seem to have birthdays each week but their age doesn't really change.  So Fletcher, the baby, wears diapers now, needs to be swaddled, goes in the swings, drinks a bottle, etc.  Barrett wanted a pack and play for Fletcher ($5 on FB Garage Sale page - score!) and all he wanted for Christmas was a car seat for Fletcher.  Well, it is extremely difficult to find a boy print play car seat.  I finally found one on Amazon made by Joovy for FIFTY dollars.  I was not thrilled about that since I'd already done all his Christmas shopping before he decided and told Santa this is all he wanted.  So anyways Fletcher is like a family member.  Barrett is his dad and I'm his mom and Mark is also his dad. :)

A few weeks ago I see Fletcher is up Barrett's shirt.  Um, Barrett are you breastfeeding Fletcher?  Barrett looks at me like I'm a complete idiot as he says "mom, I'm a boy, I don't have milk in my boobs." Duh.  I said what are you doing then?  He said "it's called reprocessing mom.  I drink milk and then I cut a hole right here next to my belly button and Fletcher can get the milk out."  Reprocessing?  Seriously.  This kid never ceases to amaze me and crack me up!

Adios first tooth!

On January 15th, our biggest kid lost his first tooth!  It had been loose for a while so we knew it was coming but still...he just turned 5 in October?!?!?!  It was the first tooth that came in at FIVE months old so it's not too shocking that it fell out early.  Of course it fell out at 8:30pm and we never have cash on hand it seems.  All we could find was $5.  So we had no choice and we called it the first tooth bonus.  This tooth fairy will not be paying $5 per tooth!

We recently let Barrett watch Star Wars (the original one) and he LOVES it.  He calls Darth Vader...Dark Vader and light sabers are light savers.  Cracks me up!  The other day he had some friends over to play and one of them came down to tattle that someone was spitting so we called them all to the top of the stairs (5 kids) and we questioned them and Barrett said "I didn't even take a spit, Mom." LOL!  The way he says things cracks me up and I constantly wish I had video rolling on him.  I'll start blogging them so at least I can read it and remember!  Right now his favorite thing to play with is his trophies.  One is from soccer and one is from baseball.  One is named Roger and the other Blixen.  No idea.  They have a room (under our dining room table) and they eat dinner with us and have plates. Hysterical.  They wear clothes which are baby wipes that he pokes their arms through and makes them like jackets.  Seriously where does he come up with this stuff?

He also told us he is going to win the Heisman Trophy like Johnny Football.  Get your autographs while you can peeps!

We looked over from the kitchen the other day and saw this.  He was just talking to and playing with the babies.  I grabbed Mark and hugged him as tears welled in my eyes.  We have 4 amazing, beautiful children.  I still cannot believe it.  We are so blessed and thank God daily for our blessings.