Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth...literally!

1 year, 14 and 15 weeks

Ah, such is the time again for teething, and double the trouble at that!  The twins are frantically gumming at anything and everything, trying to soothe their hurt.  And it so happened that our last round of immunization shots would be scheduled on the same week to add to their misery!  Alas, the poor things.  So of course it wasn't a surprise when they developed fevers and ear infections, as expected.  So now round 3 of antibiotics to battle their sickness, in order to get their immunity developed like their big sister, as she has not (knock on wood) caught any of it.  I distinctly remember having to go through these seemingly never ending bouts of illness when Braelyn was their age, and now proves to be her remedy.  Ironically, to go through such pain and suffering early on so that it will help you later on in life.  At least, that's the plan.

Let's see, we're back tracking a couple weeks.  As posted last week I had to purchase some data space, and now that I have, we're good to go...for the next year or so, until I run out of space again! 

The Friday before last Lolo and Lala drove up for the weekend to help us with the children.  They hadn't seen them in 3 weeks so it was a nice treat to have two extra set of hands with the kids while we got some work done.  We attended church and after naps we took the kids to down town Winter Garden so the grandparents could see the kids play in the fountain area.  Later that evening they took charge of the children while Tangie and I braved an incredible thunderstorm and stole away to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary:  a trip to Babies R Us to buy diapers!  They had this deal where you could get a $25 gift card for every 2 boxes of diapers.  $300 and  8 boxes (1180 diapers) later, we topped off the evening with a movie, the whimsical Woody Allen flick, "Midnight in Paris".  A nice romantic comedy, especially if you're into classic literary works by Hemingway, T. S. Elliott, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Lala goes over Daddy's baby album with Braelyn, to show her how incredibly nerdy her father looked when he was a boy.

Maddy:  "Here you go, you can have the crown back.  I don't need it."

Brae works on making her crown during Sabbath school.



The grandparents enjoy seeing the kids play and get soaked.

This is just seconds after a stream of water knocked this unsuspecting kid off his feet.

Not to be outdone, little sister gets hammered by another stream of water that knocked her down as well!

Ah, the refreshing bubbling water on a hot summer's day!

On Sunday I mowed the lawn while Tangie took a few hours at Panera to work, while my parents doted on their charges.  Later on that day after naps I stayed back with the twins while Mommy and Braelyn had a date to the outlets and did some shopping.  Afterwards Brae learned the lesson of not taking anything, especially not the bright pink lip gloss, from the counter without paying for it.  She had to write a note of apology (in crayon, of course) and return the item. 

We then had a Skype session with Papa Dave and Nana Jane in Denver.  Ah the wonders of technology, at least they can see and talk with us over the miles.  Doesn't do justice for the real thing, but it comes a close second.  The twins enjoyed saying hi, or banging Tangie's laptop.  There's a moment in the end of this next video where Maddy pulls down on the screen as if she's looking for them:  "Where are these people and how can they fit in here?"



Madelyn got into big sister's treasure box.  Looks like Daddy has to clean up!

Madelyn ate ravioli for dinner.  Looks like Mommy has to clean up!

I killed this monster snake on our patio.  It was a good seven or eight feet or inches long...

Our neighbor Lisa holds up a huge 16 lb lobster they brought back from Maine.

It was almost the size of Braelyn.  We did some research and ones that grow to that size can be well over a hundred years old, which doesn't make the meat as soft and tasty.  Too bad.

Braelyn just hanging around with Mommy in the hammock swing.

The twins have been learning to count in Spanish at school.  Watch as Kohl shows you what "Uno" means.



Maddy wanted to help get things for supper.

Best part of the day:  Coming home to shrieks of joy and excitement and getting smothered in hugs!

The twins show off matching band aids from their shots.

Braelyn had her face painted for circus day at school.





I felt like a reporter witnessing two individuals break into and vandalizing property.  It was a tag team effort; definately a two person job.

"Okay, you caught me.  I surrender!"  Kohl got busted!

Here are some food creations made for a few dinners these past weeks.  Tangie and I finished the 4 week diet with us losing around 6 pounds each.  Tangie has decided to start another 4 week course and I of course will support her.  In spirit.  It's just so hard when you love food and everything that has to do with fun gourmet cooking.  And ice cream.  Oh well, it will be moderation for me!

8 hour slow roasted cornish hen with saffron rice.

Seared ahi tuna and sea weed soft tacos with field greens salad.

Grilled salmon with mozzeralla and fresh fruit medley.



Okay, so now on to this past weekend.  We had our friends the Grodacks and Bergherms over for dinner Saturday night, but of course we invited them over first to have their children play in the fountain park in down town Winter Garden (didn't I mention before it was becoming a tradition?)  We grilled hot dogs and of course my favorite dry aged filet mignon was a must.  We enjoyed their company and caught up with a lot of things.

Can you tell what the moms are talking about?

Sitting at the kids' table.

On Sunday Tangie attended a baby shower for Ashley Whitaker, our friend who's triplets are due this fall.  I say "this fall" because you just never know.  Of course, you are given a due date but with multiples it can just be any time.  I believe she's officially on bed rest now.  Anyway, Tangie had fun catching up with the moms and talking shop.  It's nice to have another family with multiples so she can be a support, although we're less one than they will have.

I was on Daddy duty so I took the children out to the park and to Target while Mommy was out.  We had a quick lunch and then it was naps for everyone.  By the time Tangie came home they had all started stirring and then it was back out to Walmart and then another park before we called it a day.  It was extremely humid and I remember just stepping outside and my t-shirt sticking to me almost immediately.  Can't wait 'til summer is over.  Stupid heat dome.

Oops.  Can't say that word.  Stupid.  I was busted by Braelyn earlier today for mumbling it under my breath after I witnessed a car cut another driver off.  She said, "Daddy we don't say that word.  That's a bad word."  Then she proceeded to ask me why I said it, and as I was trying to explain I realized my attempt to rationalize my actions with my 4 year old was futile, and ended up apologizing.  "You're right sweetheart, we don't say that word.  Daddy made a mistake, and he's sorry."  Lesson # 846,572 learned:  Don't say stupid.

A sad day for us all.  We hit 50K miles in our minivan.  And we've only had it for one year!  (I know, we bought it used, but still.  23K miles in one year is a lot!)

Brae's attempt to play tether ball with her siblings.  This is just as Kohl got bopped in the head.

And the big sister shall lead the way.

The kids continue to grow and are developing their communication skills.  All 3 are taking sign language at school, and are now implementing them in daily conversation.  The twins sign to us when they want "more" and "food" when they're hungry.  And Madelyn says "poo poo" whenever she goes, because as soon as she says it you see that little grunt in her face and you know she's definately going.  So funny! 

Braelyn is enjoying her new class and continues to work on writing and reading.  We've been going to the library and she loves to bring home lots, or should I say tons, of books.  She's growing up so fast, the other day as I was changing the diaper of a screaming Madelyn, Braelyn came over and put her hand lovingly on her baby sister's head and said matter-of-factly, "It's okay Maddy, calm down."  Another classic.

Here is a repertoire of the twins' vocabulary:

Maddy:                                                              Kohl:

Hi                                                                      Hi
Bye bye     (with wave)                                     Bah bye   (both hands wave)
Uh oh                                                                 Ball
Poo Poo                                                             Dos (as in "2" in Espanol)
Da dee                                                               Da da
Ma ma                                                               Ma
Lala                                                                   Ya ya
Lolo                                                                   Da
Papa                                                                   Da
Nana                                                                   Da

As you can tell, Maddy is a little more advanced than Kohl.  But he'll catch up.  Da.

Braelyn is into stacking chairs when she watches TV.  Weird.

This is a video of the twins eating supper and enjoying some entertainment.  Watch as Maddy signs "more" with both hands coming together, at the end of the clip.



This next video captures the excitement and delight of bath time.  How I wish it were also true for us adults!

This last video shows Madelyn and Braelyn playing with each other in the tunnel we got the kids this past week.  It's a lot of fun and creates some kind of obstacle course for them.



And of course Mommy had to join in on the fun.  Here it looks as if the tunnel swallowed her whole, head first, like a snake!

The 3 girls playing in the tent.

Braelyn got a little boo boo on her face and asked for a frozen piece of cheesecake to ice it, before she promptly put it in her mouth and ate it!

Hope you enjoyed it!  Have a great weekend!

Pardon Our Dust!

So...apparently I have used all the free space allotted by Google for this blog; Our HD pics and videos have taken up the majority of it.  So now Google wants to charge me money to aquire more storage so that our constituency can continue to be updated each week. 

Seriously Google?  A 153.4 Billion dollar company can't spare to give little old me some extra data space?   That's preposterous! 

And how much do you expect me to pay?  An arm AND a leg?  How much?!?! Um...what's that, you say?  20 Gigs for $5 a year?  That's it? 

Well, why didn't you say so!

And so with that our blog site will be updated this weekend along with a little remodeling.  We appreciate your patience and hope to be back up and running very soon!

Playing "Pick Up", Including the Stomach Bug...Yech!

1 year 13 weeks

Yes, this week we picked up the dreaded stomach bug, although knock on wood, Braelyn and Kohlden haven't shown any signs of getting it.  It started with Madelyn on Sunday night and then Tangie and I started feeling nauseous and queasy Tuesday and Wednesday, and just now starting to feel better towards normal today.  Which meant that our last week of our diet was thrown for a loop, as we really couldn't keep anything down and eating food just didn't sound appetizing.  But I guess that's another way to lose weight, right?  So hopefully we're on the road to recovery, and ready for any weekend activities.

Last Sabbath we made it to church again, this time with minutes to spare.  It's starting to become easier getting the team ready and out the door as they get older.  It also helps to give them baths the night before!  I remember a year ago it took us the better of 3 hours to get ready for church.  And that was just the women! 

The twins' Cradle Roll class, complete with castle in the background.

Kohlden dressed like a prince in Heaven.

And Maddy the princess.  Perfect fit, don't ya think?

And then we get to ride a rocking...bear?

We had lunch with the Whitakers at Sweet Tomatoes and then it was home for naps.  Tangie has the job of keeping the kids entertained on the drive home so that they won't fall asleep in the car.  In doing so they can get their full nap at home without being disturbed from the transfer of the car to crib.  This valuable trick was learned from trial and error.

Macey and Marley Whitaker, with Mommy Ashley looking on, getting ready for their triplets in November.

After naps we invited Jared and Marlissa Clarke along with their daughter Isabella to join us down at Old Winter Garden to hit the fountain park again.  This seems to be a nice Sabbath afternoon tradition, as it is free and allows the children to play and get some energy out so they can be a little tuckered out at night.  Also it's nice to do something outside and still get some reprieve from the summer heat. 

We made sure Maddy wore a swmsuit this week, rather than a dress.

I think I told Kohlden to smile and wave for the camera!

She just loves the water park!

I can reach it!  (Mike, where is that from, in 5, 4, 3, 2...)

Isabella made sure her Daddy got just as soaked as she did!

Our handsome little man.  Actually looks like a surfer dude.

Cheesing for the camera and getting Daddy wet!

Okay, time to wrap things up!

4 hours later....our plan worked!  Exhausted, she fell asleep on the sofa.

This past weekend allowed us to visit some local Farmers' Markets around the area.  With our "nutritional eating" we've been buying lots of fresh fruit and vegetables for salads and meals, so it's nice to get good quality and mostly organic products at a cheaper price.  We always get our honey from the local honey vendor, and won't buy honey from the grocery store.  If you use the local honey made from the area, it will help any allergies, as the honey is made from the local pollen that causes them.  I even found and purchased a pound of coarse Himalayan Pink Salt, used for a lot of remedies, but for me I'm going to use it to flavor any steaks I'm trying to dry age.  I saw it on a restaurant special on TV and can't wait to try it!  We went to both the Winter Garden and Clermont Farmers' Markets, and then had a picnic next to Lake Clermont enjoying some fresh oven baked pizza and authentic fish 'n chips, just like they make in England.  Tasty!

Braelyn kisses Maddy as she tried on big sister's flippy floppies.

It's nice when sisters share!

Under the shade near Lake Clermont.

Yes, that's Braelyn drinking Mommy's Diet Coke.  Don't ask me how or why.

This is a video of the kids enjoying the picnic and walking the park, with poor Maddy tripping over the blanket and falling face first into the ground, getting a nice mouthful of dirt.  At least it was organic.

Kohl really wants to learn how to golf!

Mommy uses Braelyn as a weight to work her leg and abdominal muscles!

The rest of the week was the same as usual, save the drama with the stomach bug.   We've also been playing lots of games with the kids, especially the game "pick up" as in picking up their messes.  I swear, everytime I look around there is always a toy here or there that has been left lying about.  And the girls, Braelyn and Maddy, have this terrible habit of removing their socks and leaving them anywhere they choose.  Where were you guys raised, in a barn?!?!  I'm sure this will continue for at least several more years to come.  Oh well.

This is considered peace and quiet in our home:



Having dinner, just hanging out...

Playing "pick up", this is what happens when the twins break into the pantry!

This week Kohlden has learned to say "buh-bye" and wave his hand; Madelyn has learned to say "ya" when you ask her a question, which is hilarious because it sounds like she really understands you:  "Did you go poo-poo?"  "Ya"  "Are you hungry?"  "Ya"  "Can you say ya?"  "Ya". 

Check out this video of them closing the fridge door.  Too funny!

 

Hope you all have a great weekend!