Thanksgiving

We had Thanksgiving with friends that have become like family. We love these people. There were 5 families total and so much food that we couldn't make a dent. We had a wonderful day.

Here we have the workers.
Here are the eaters. Anderson loved the boy to girl ratio.

And here are some of the sweetest girls on the face of the planet. The Grimm girls. The two girls on each end are twins and the one in the middle is their little sister. They have each chosen their favorite triplet to adore and cuddle, while Anderson gets loves from all of them.
Ellie gets Carter, Malorie gets Mia and Emma asks if she can keep Cole.


This is Madi, the big sister of the sweet girls. She's just as sweet and already has some major mothering skills. I love this family!
Thank you Grimms, for hosting us, and Blaylocks, Greenhalghs and Christensens for some really good conversation and a fun day!

Getting Bigger

I can literally see a change in these kids from one day to the next. They're getting stronger and bigger and I can't make it stop!

Here they are in their highchairs. If I have enough stamina, they get solids twice a day. Cole would love to eat three squares a day and get rid of the bottle all together, but I'm not up for that and neither is his digestive system.
A little brotherly wrestling.
They are rolling all over the floor and holding their heads up pretty well. Compared to her brothers, Mia is lacking a little in the muscle department, or maybe she just doesn't like to break a sweat. Either way, when she's on her tummy she holds her head up for a little while and then she just lays it down and snuggles into the comfy carpet. There's no reason to exhaust herself!

Trick or Treat!

Larry the Cucumber-Anderson; excited about trick or treating until he found out scary images would be involved...like carved pumpkins.
Pumpkin Fairy-Mia; severely under dressed for the 40 degree weather we had, but still cute and very content.
Elephant-Cole; those cheeks were perfect for this costume.
Crab-Carter; before the crying.

Basketball, what Anderson chose to do instead of trunk or treating.
Anderson helping himself to food at someone else's table.
Happy Halloween!

NOT the Swine Flu

Anderson had a fever last week and I automatically thought "swine flu". We had been in contact with some people who came down with it, so I tried to get Anderson to wear a face mask, but like any two year old, he refused. I called Shaun at work and asked him to come home so I could keep Anderson away from the babies. As usual, dad convinced Anderson to wear the mask until we could get him tested. The fever and general crankiness turned out to be two ear infections and an upper respiratory infection-thank goodness.

My Little Pumpkins

Cole, Carter, Anderson and Mia

Projects

There's something about being a mom that makes me think I can do anything....like canning peaches...and apple pie filling. I've had a steam canner for years and I broke it out for the first time last weekend. It was sooo easy! I really can't believe how happy I got everytime I heard a lid POP too.



Now this project has been on the books for months. I finally finished it up this weekend also.
It went from this

to this

and then this.
I love my purple, craft filing cabinet and I hope Shaun learns to love our purple garage.

Friday Night Lights

Shaun took Anderson to his first high school football game on Friday. Anderson was so excited...to see the band. A few weeks ago Anderson and I were on a walk when we happened to catch the high school band marching across the street to the stadium for a football game. It was quite a sight as we sat and watched the band stop traffic to cross the street while playing their instruments. He's been talking about it ever since, "Mom, member band, bums? March, march, march." Well, now that he's been to a game and knows that there's more to it than the band, he can't get enough. Music and a game that involves a ball=heaven. Now he talks about the Bentonville "Tiggers" and how the players got "tickled".

On their way. It was so cold that night, I can't believe they made it through 3 quarters! Even then, Anderson did not want to go, but it was late...and Shaun was cold.

Luckily, I took that first photo, because this is all Shaun got. I guess Anderson was so into the game he wouldn't look at the camera.

What Anderson Hears--Regularly

Anderson, we don't...
-microwave dice.
-throw cats.
-step on Mia.
-drink the bath water.

A Rare Moment

Lovely, just lovely. Ok, Carter's actually awake, BUT, he's such a content little baby that he's just as quiet awake as he is asleep.
I think it lasted 15 seconds.

I Think He's Ready

for the business world! Anderson, have you been talking to Uncle Devan?

Mia's Beauty Horn

Mia was born with a small, flat red mark on the top of her head-about 3 cm. long. Over the first week of her life it grew...and grew...and grew. It grew upwards and outwards so fast that we lovingly nicknamed it Mia's beauty horn. She has a hemangioma (also called a strawberry). It's supposed to keep growing until she's around a year old. Then it should shrink until it's completely gone, around age three. It's completely benign and doesn't seem to affect her at all. I don't really even notice it anymore. It takes going out into public for me to remember that it's even there.

With a face like this, no one really dwells on her hemangioma for long.

If Mia were to have a signature move, this would be it-sticking out her tongue. She has done it from the very beginning as one of her first attempts at communication. She would stick out her tongue, then I would, then she would, back and forth.

Carter

Carter is our laugher. Whenever Mia and Cole are crying their eyes out, he's right there next to them laughing. I think he's laughing at them. This gets me laughing and thusly able to deal with two crying 4 month olds. Thank heavens for Carter!

Anderson and Carter get each other going...and going...
and going...
and going!
Ok, that's enough.

Aren't they getting big?

Tulsa Zoo

First off, I just don't understand why people were gawking! Seriously, hasn't anyone ever seen a stroller before...
that fits four kids...
that has to be tied to the top of your car with an immense amount of rope? Really!

After getting over the initial shock of "us" people started to calm down a bit...until the next exhibit. I really should get used to it, but the attention always throws me off. Anyway, we realized that Anderson is still too young for the zoo. I don't have too many pictures of him watching the animals, but I do have a ton of him at the zoo park! Maybe next time we'll just drive 5 minutes away to our local park.

He loved this little guy.

They really do travel well though.

The Weekend...and Monday

Carter discovering giraffe. Too many kids in the....BED!


Church! Anderson fell and hit his eye on the coffee table yesterday. Ask him what it is and he'll tell you, "It's a goose egg!"
Anderson and I went to the Frisco Festival in Rogers on Saturday. It was really fun with tons of free rides for the kids!
The train ride.
The cars. He would turn that steering wheel back and forth with finesse. I think he'll be a good driver someday.

Dear Jessica

When are you coming back?!
Love,
Anderson, Cole, Mia, Carter, Cheramie and Shaun

Anderson's Dressing Himself!

...in the babies clothes.


I'm still not sure how he got this onesie on. The pants are his, just inside out and backwards. This kid is growing up!

Cole's a Thumb Sucker!

He still takes a paci and I'm not sure if it's a permanent thing, but he finds his thumb every now and then. None of the other kids have sucked their thumbs so I think this is pretty cute.

Triplets Baby Shower

I had the best time at my baby shower. Good food, good friends...and no games! I loved it. Thanks Amy, for throwing us a party!

The Choo Choo Train

...at least that's what Anderson calls it. I love this stroller. It's surprisingly easy to push, turning is another matter. I feel like I need blinkers or something. I'm just so happy to have something that allows me to transport all the kids by myself. What freedom!

Anderson at 2 years, Babies at 2 months

Anderson

Carter, Mia, Cole
Mia
Cole
Carter