Party of Five plus TWO

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Times of Change

With the seasons beginning to change...oh wait, we don't have seasons...anyway, thanks to some family and friends, we figured out how to change up our Blog to give it a little more spice! We hope you enjoy the "browsing music", but if it annoys you, feel free to pause it. Also, notice our new poll. This month, we are voting on whether Joe should shave his head or not. Joe's belly is getting rounder and his hair is getting thinner, so we are wanting to know your opinion regarding shaving his head. Your votes are all anonymous so feel free to be honest (No Andy! Removing Joe's head altogether is not an option, so don't even try!) If we get a good turn out, Joe will go ahead and shave it. Before and after pictures will be posted! We will try to have some fun polls every now and again, so check back often.

Things have been going good in the "party of five" household. The girls are really active and keeping us on our toes all the time. The hot dog days of summer are starting to fade while we enjoy the slightly cooler temperatures. We found a good deal recently on a little blow up pool for the back porch and the girls and Ryan have loved it. Unfortunately, we attracted some unwanted guests and Renee was not too happy. Apparently an ant found it's way up to Renee's neck and bit her about five times. She was really brave and didn't even cry, but sadly the ant bites left some ugly little pustules that are getting better everyday.

If you've been checking in with the blog without our reminder emails, then you already know about Ryan doing well with potty training (see previous post). Well, he continues to do well and is starting to go on his own. The problem we are running into, is he only does this if he is naked. If he has underwear or a pull-up on, he tends to get lazy. We know he recognizes the urge to go, but now we are trying to get him to understand that he can't do it in his pants. Anyone have any tips for us? A small hurdle, but he is doing well. We are really hoping to finish his potty training by age 3 so he can go to preschool with his cousin Zoey.

Recently, we were blessed to have our great friends from Orange County come and visit us for the weekend. Adrian and Nicole brought their precious son Niko (4 months old), and came out and visited us about two weeks ago. We had a blast having them here and we all ate like kings! Adrian and Joe played Xbox as much as possible, while Karen and Nicole did girl stuff like chat and go get pedicures, etc...(nothing nearly as fun as Xbox :-) Ryan had such a great time "looking after" Niko that he was really sad to see him go home. Ryan would wake up everyday for the next couple days saying "Where is Niko?" We were so grateful to have them here and we can't wait to see them come back soon! We posted some pictures below of just one of the many fun moments.

Not too much else to report. Hope everyone enjoys the pictures and as always, we love to hear from all you. Email, snail mail, call, or comment soon!

We are in Arizona...why do we need a fireplace again?

P.S Thanks Aunt Sue for the dresses unless Uncle Joe picked them out!!

Here's a front and a back view of them! :)

Renee told me she was a Cardinal's fan so I put her up on my shoulders till she took it back and agreed to be a Cubs fan for the rest of her life! Go Cubs! Division Champs!

"No really...do I have something on my face?"

(Thanks "Aunt" Lauren for my Bling!!)

We've been lying to everyone...we don't have twins, we have quads! Surprise!- YIKES!

(And if you wonder why I don't put bows in their hair more often, it's becuase they off of each other! They will only last 5 minutes at the most! But I was able to get a picture before they noticed! )

There is nothing like a nice Arizona evening, kicking back and eating goldfish crackers.

2 peas in a pod!!

Ryan: "This is how the ladies ride....."

Sometimes, sisters are just too impatient. They want everything at the same time..Karen has found a nice solution for the problem.

Thank goodness they really aren't siamese!

You just can't eat watermelon and not get it everywhere. That's the best part.

Adrian, Nicole, and Joe getting ready to feast! Well, after the baby eats first.

You are my friend and I'll take care of you. It will be our turn on XBOX soon!

"Carry on my wayward son! They'll be peace when you are done!" How can you not love Guitar Hero II?

Ryan: "Ok, the yellow button is the turbo..go ahead and push it on three. 1..2....."

I spy something with my eye.......Ryan!

Ryan is showing his sisters how to go off-roading. Who says you can't have fun with rocks as your back yard?

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Hooray for Ryan!!

Ryan had such an accomplishment this week that we had a celebration for him at Chuck E Cheese. We called it the....

"I pooped on the Potty Party!!" (try saying that 5 times fast!!) :)

He was so proud of himself, and so was mommy and daddy! He sure is catching on fast to potty training...that is as long as we are home with no schedule and he can around naked. Some days I think we are really getting this down, and then other days, I feel like we have a long way to go still!! This potty training stuff sure isn't easy, I sure hope girls are easier!! It will be sooo nice not to have 3 in diapers any more!! We told him that we will take him back once he goes all the time on the potty, so we'll see how long it is before you see more of these pictures!! :) Wish us luck as the journey continues!

Here are some pictures of his fun party with Grandma Kathy, Cousin Zoey & Abby and Aunt "Kendwa"

Ryan was completely mesmerized by Chuck E!!

Just like Buzz, Ryan loves to shoot things with a "Laser"

Ryan and Zoey having a blast driving!

Wheeee!

Zoey was having fun giving everyone a ride!

Actually this is quite a good technique with all four extremities at work ... she beat Ryan's score!

Ryan loved running from game to game playing his heart out!

Does he remind you of someone here? hmmmm....Daddy?!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

The End Of A Dry Spell

Greetings to all our family and friends who have waited so patiently for us to update our blog. It has been a whirlwind around here and every time we try to sit down and update, something else comes up....or we are just too tired. Hopefully we will be able to get back into the swing of things and get more regular updates.

The girls are doing great and adjusting to their new environment well. They are crawling 100% of the time and have begun to pull themselves up onto the furniture regularly. They play really well together and it is a relief to have a small break while they keep themselves entertained for a short period. Recently, we moved them to separate cribs while sleeping. We've had them together since day one, but realized their naps were getting shorter and shorter. Someone else who had twins said their babies slept a lot better once separated, so we decided to give it a try. Luckily, they have taken well to the change and are sleeping much better. Most nights they sleep from 7pm to 7am, so we are not complaining at all while we enjoy the feeling of being rested in the morning. Despite not having any teeth yet (Ryan got his first tooth at 13 months!), we have started them on small pieces of whole foods and they really enjoy feeding themselves....when they actually get some in their mouth! The reflux is still there, but getting better and we still have hopes of weaning them off of the medication soon. They hate taking it, and we hate having to give it so it would be a blessing for all of us if they didn't have to take it much longer.

Ryan is being such a good big brother and loves helping his baby sisters. Every morning when he gets up, it is the first question he asks: "Where's baby sisters?" Ryan has been an early bird lately and has been getting up before his sisters. We have to put a gate up when they are sleeping or Ryan would go climb in the babies crib and make sure baby sisters are awake to play with. He is a great helper, but sometimes he "helps" a little too well. :-) Recently, Ryan has made great leaps in the area of potty training. He has gone pop-poo three times and pee-pee twice (a "real" pee-pee only counts if it splashes in the bowl. Little squirts don't count...although he is really proud of them). He is starting to recognize the signs when he has to go, but we still have a lot of ground to cover. We are proud of his progress and hope to get him potty trained soon so he can start pre-school once he is three. (Side-note: Thanks to Grandma Kathy for getting Ryan going in the right direction....no pun intended..for his potty training)

Karen has been working two days a week at the hospital, trying to work mostly weekends to avoid daycare costs when Joe is in school. With the temperature being as hot as it has been, she has been doing whatever she can to keep the kids and herself cool. There is a nice pool uptown that Ryan really enjoys but is only open on Wednesday afternoon and weekends since school is in session. Since that pool is closed more than not, we bought a couple small little pools for the girls and Ryan to enjoy on those hot steamy days...and nights...ok, so it is hot all time. Karen recently found the local "mothers of multiples" club here locally and is looking forward to getting involved with their activities and events. There is a "twins sale" coming up soon, where she hopes to find another 25 pair of shoes for the girls (keep in mind they don't walk), and hordes of other cute and adorable twin clothes.

Joe started school on August 22nd and has really enjoyed it. He is enjoying being at graduate school where everyone has the same goal and are much more mature than undergrad. He has met some good friends already and is enjoying his classes. Since most of his classes are focused on pharmacy related subjects instead of "general sciences" it makes the classes really enjoyable. Walgreen's recently took his whole class to dinner and a Diamondbacks game all for free. Joe had a great time and even managed to avoid Walgreen's little speech to get him to come work for them after he graduates. Apparently they start trying to bribe you early on in your career. :-)

We just had a visit from Joe's mom and cousin Kenzie this last weekend. We all had a great time and Ryan was VERY sad to see them go. He kept talking about Grandma and Kenzie for the next couple days. We had a great Labor Day weekend with them and were sad to see them go too. The girls warmed up to Grandma really fast which gave mom and dad a well needed break. We spent the Sunday before Labor Day at Uncle Joe and Aunt Sue's house just basking in their wonderful pool. All the kids had a great time playing in the pool and then finished off the night with a great dinner....well, Uncle Joe did make dinner....so I'm not sure I can say "great"...more like "I'm glad I'm still alive" Heehee! We did have a great time and look forward to many more get togethers in the future.

Overall, things are going great and we really feel blessed to be here at this time (When it is not 110 degrees, that is!). Like I said, we will try to keep you updated more quickly and hope nobody forgot about us during this long dry spell. We hope to hear from you all soon! Enjoy the huge bunch of pictures!