Summer Fun!

It's been more than a month since I posted last and I think I've got a ton of fun summer pictures to share.  We've been super busy!  We've had guests from out-of-state come (those pictures will be on a later post).  And we've spent a great deal of time chasing the babies, as they both have begun crawling everywhere!  Kate was first at about 8.5 months.  Maddie was closer to 9.5 months before she was up on all fours, crawling everywhere.  Now they truly are double-trouble!

Our new set of wheels!

I set up our two baby pools in the back yard one afternoon.  At first, Kate HATED it and just kept reaching for me to get her out.  Maddie loved it, as you'll soon see.  Kate watched and saw how much fun Maddie was having and she finally enjoyed it too.

 Checking out her big sister in the other pool.

 "Okay, maybe this isn't so bad after all."

 I recently took all three girls and went up north to Rice Lake for Karlee's first bridal shower.  It was so much fun to celebrate with her!

Mimi's girls!

Getting a good picture with all three kids is tough. In fact, to get a good one, I usually take about 20 that aren't so good. Here's a few funny ones :)

 Yes, that would be my sister.  It appears she's attempting to nurse both of my babies.  Thanks, Karls!

Momma's girls!

I've got a ton more pictures still.  I'll try to find the time to post them soon....

BIG NEWS HERE...did I share with you that Lauren is engaged to be married?!?!  She came home from summer school one afternoon and exclaimed, "Mommy, guess what?  There's a boy named Tyler in my class and today I asked him to be my husband when we get older.  And Mommy, he said YES!!!"  You'd think it would end there, right?  Not so, with my daughter the planner.  She has since genuinely asked me if I'll be one of her bridesmaids and she wants to call and ask Sophia also.  She's a hoot!

Love,

M

And so it begins...

Last week marked the beginning of my new career...I became a "stay-at-home mom!"  I am so excited to begin this new phase of my life.  I love knowing that I will be the one to spend each day with my children, to put Lauren onto the school bus and help in her classroom, to take the twins to storytime at the library and to have a slower pace of life than I've had as a working mom of 3 little ones.  We need this for our family and I feel so blessed that I am able to do it.  Teaching will always be an option for me but my children will only be little once.  I don't want to miss a thing.

Celebrating my birthday!

I love the look on Kate's face here.  I wonder what she's thinking?

So that's why baby swings have four leg holes!

Lauren's first day of summer 4K.  She was pretty excited!

Kate got to have a "first"!  She was the first to figure out how to crawl!  Now there's no stopping her!

Now they are in to EVERYTHING and tend to go in opposite directions.  Fun for me!

Double Trouble.

Awwww.  Love this.

Lately Maddie laughs all the time and for absolutely no apparent reason at all.  She cracks herself up which of course makes us laugh too :)

If you know Chad, then you know he enjoys a good "house project".  Here's his biggest one yet...building us a deck!

Haha....the first time he got to enjoy a cold beer on his new deck.  Granted, the deck isn't finished yet but I don't think Chad cared at this point :)

 What's new with us?  Lauren is loving her summer 4K program.  I take her each morning (and lug the twins in with me in their jammies) and pick her up at lunchtime (again, lugging the twins but at least they are dressed now!)   Lauren was recently distraught because she couldn't decide what she wants to be when she grows up.  She was torn between being a "Menards worker", a juggler in the circus, or a teacher like Mommy.  Daddy told her to be a Menards worker so he can get a discount.  But don't worry--she made her final decision.  Wait for it....she's going to drive a steamroller.  And lay down new pavement on roads.  Where does she come up with this stuff?

The babies are crawling all over the place now!  Kate has even started pulling herself up onto things.  I was feeling bad for her because Maddie has had all the "firsts" to this point (okay, except Kate was born first but does that count?).  Kate surprised us all and was the first to crawl!  Now there's no stopping her and she is quick!  This has been a big week for Kate--she also got her first two teeth.  Consequently, she has awakened in the night a few times but has been easy to get back to sleep with a little help from Tylenol and Orajel. 

Chad is having fun with his new deck project.  He even had me out there for a few hours today, hammering away at putting the base of the deck together.  I have to admit, it's kind of fun to help him with it.  It even gave me an excuse to quickly run through the neighbors' sprinklers to cool off for a minute (when they weren't watching, of course).

I'd better run.  As part of being a stay-at-home Mom (and pinterest addict), I created a cleaning calendar for myself. Every day, there are a few cleaning items that I attend to.  It helps me to stay organized.  Plus, if I'm going to be spending more time at home, I'd rather have it clean anyways.  So far, I've been able to stick to it for the past week and a half.  I need to go do the last item for the day (mopping the wood floor) before I call it a night.  And while I haven't needed it yet, Chad and Lauren think I ought to have a sticker incentive chart for myself to see if I really keep to this cleaning schedule.  Ha!

Good night!
~M   

Zoo Fun, Baby Chicks, Chow Time and More!

 On Mother's Day, we took the twins on their first visit to the zoo!

 Lauren was excited to show her sisters all of her favorite animals.

 Lauren's best friend Sophia and her parents Andy and Rachel, joined us for the day.

 Who needs a snack at the zoo when you've got a yummy big toe?

 Lauren and Daddy on the carousel.

 We hatched chicks in my classroom again this year and I brought them home for a weekend.  Lauren called herself their "Mother Hen" and took great care of them.  I taught her how to handle them on her own and how to get them fresh food and water.  She LOVED it!  She named three of them....Ariel, Belle and Rapunzel. 

 Lauren and I took on a fun project this spring--we took care of caterpillars until they made their cocoons.  Then we got to enjoy watching them when they emerged as beautiful butterflies!

 Time to let them go free!

 The last of the three butterlies rested on Lauren's hand for a few moments before flying away.  We agreed that it was as if it was thanking her for taking such great care of them!

 This weekend, Mimi and Boppa Steighner came for a visit and to celebrate Mimi's birthday.  Here they are with their 'three angels'.

 In the past few weeks, the twins have been trying many different new foods.  Some they have liked and some, well....not so much.

 Kate was hilarious when she tried green beans for the first time.  She kept her tongue sticking out, with a spoonful of green beans on it, for a good five minutes.  She simply refused to bring it into her mouth, much less swallow it.  Ha!  Maybe she really IS my kid after all :)

 Clearly, this was "pre-green beans".

 This is what happens when Mommy takes too long to make the baby food!

Bottle-feeding time got much easier when Lauren learned how to help us.  To speed up the amount of time it takes to bottle-feed two babies at once, we feed them in their bouncy seats.  They've just about outgrown them though, so we've also begun letting them lay on boppy pillows while they drink their bottles. 

What else is new with us?  Lauren is very excited to begin 4K summer school in a few weeks.  This week marks the end of my teaching career, at least for awhile.  I plan to stay home with my girls until they are all in school and then I'll re-evaluate and possibly teach again.  I am so excited about this new path my life is taking.  Being a stay-at-home mom is something I never thought I'd be able to do.  Fortunately, Chad has come to a point in his career where we are able to make this change and I couldn't be happier!  

I'm looking forward to tomorrow.  It's my birthday and Lauren was helping Daddy bake a special treat for me tonight.  She is trying to make sure it's a surprise, so she told me they baked "brownie noodle soup jello jigglers".  Hmmm....while that does sound interesting, their treat smells unmistakingly like chocolate cake.  Ha!

Have a good week!

~Mindy