Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a good Christmas! I'm pretty late getting this post up. Do you ever feel like you're behind on everything? Oh well. One thing at a time...

We spent Christmas in Chamberlain at Mike's parents' house. It's ridiculously relaxing there. I turn into the laziest person you've ever met. I barely want to move off the couch. I don't have to do any cooking or cleaning and Tom does the kids' baths. It's certainly a nice break.

We opened our presents on Christmas Eve. The kids made away like little bandits. They were so excited to open up their presents. They've been talking about it forever. Ethan got some arts and crafts supplies, a transformers mask, a Mr. Potato Head, Buzz Lightyear, a remote control snow mobile, and Lincoln Logs. Mia got a bunch of little horses, some arts and crafts supplies, a couple of big horses for her Barbie dolls, a carriage for her horse to pull, and Jessie, from Toy Story 3. Riley got some arts and crafts supplies, Barbie, Ken, and Woody from Toy Story 3, some dolls for their dollhouse, and Melissa and Doug kitchen stuff.

The kids had a blast opening up gifts. They had so much fun that they had to open up all of Mark's gifts for him and Andrea's gifts for her. It really is a lot of fun watching them. Ethan kept cheating and opening his gifts out of turn. He didn't quite get that we had to take turns.

Tom and Andrea played a joke on me. I asked for new kitchen counters for Christmas. They wrapped up a piece of laminate that you can glue onto your counters. I opened it and didn't quite know what to say. :)









Christmas this year was definitely different without the snow. It seemed like it was spring-time. I wish we would have had a little bit of snow on the ground, but it was nice not having to worry about what the weather was going to do.

The weather was so nice that everyone went out on the boat (except me) to do some fishing. What did I do? Layed on the couch. I told you I hardly moved. The kids also played outside a bit. They definitely had a good time!

What Weird Presents...

Mike's boss saw a Jimmy Kimmel episode where parents wrapped up really strange gifts for their children. It was hilarious. You should search for it on YouTube. We decided to do that to our three. Mia got ketchup, Riley got a half-head of lettuce, and Ethan got leftovers from supper (the food he wouldn't eat.) I was laughing so hard I was almost crying. We're definitely going to do this next year. I'm guessing we'll get an even better reaction from them.

Well-Child Check-up

I took Ethan and Mia to their 4-year well check. I also had to bring Riley, which I knew was going to be a huge mistake, but I didn't have any other option. When one kid starts acting up, they all join in and I knew that this was going to be bad.

It started off okay. We were put in an exam room rather quickly. We had to wait awhile for the doctor to come. He finally came and started their exams. The three of them got naughtier for every minute we were in that room (and we were in there for an hour.) I was trying to have a decent conversation with the doctor, but the kids were acting up horribly.

The girls got into the lipgloss in my purse. Mia took my carmex and squirted the entire tube into her hand. I wasn't paying attention to what she was doing because the doctor was talking to me. All of a sudden, the doctor says, "oooooh, that's not good. That's not good." I look, and Mia had taken the glob of carmex and squished it into her face. Riley was screaming because I wouldn't let her get into my lipgloss. The doctor was just staring at us. I finally let Riley put some lipgloss on because I couldn't hear a word he was saying.

It was finally Mia's turn to be examined. She had a scab on her knee. Ethan noticed it and then tried to pick it off every chance he got. The doctor kept telling him to leave her alone, as was I. I tried to talk a little about Mia, but the kids were fighting and screaming by this time. The doctor finished up in record time and booked it out of the room.

I then had to get them all dressed. I barely got their shoes on and the three of them took off running from the room. I quickly grabbed all of their coats and toys and my purse. By the time I got it all, they were gone. The clinic we go to is huge, so I really had no idea where they went. I found them, though, because they were all screaming at the top of their lungs. They had run into an exam room around the corner.

I caught them all and then tried to herd them out of the door. The three of them took off in separate directions and started screaming again. EVERYONE was staring at me. There were nurses on the phone trying to talk to people and there were my three kids running and screaming down the hall. I was so horribly embarrassed. I just wanted to die! I caught Riley first and picked her up but then started dropping everything in my other arm. I bent over to pick the stuff up and then whacked Riley's head on the wall. She starts crying, "ouie, ouie" while holding her head.

I finally caught the other two and tried to get them into the lobby. They took off running and screaming again. EVERYONE in the lobby was staring at me. I got them out of the clinic door and herded them into a corner. I was so mad and so embarrassed. I told them that they were all in big trouble.

I held on to Ethan's arm while walking out of the door. My other arm had their toys and my purse. Ethan then decided he couldn't use his legs. They became like jello, so I was pretty much dragging him. Mia and Riley took off running in the parking lot. Mia was almost hit by a van. I think the lady heard me screaming and that's why she stopped. My heart pretty much stopped.

Have you ever been so mad and embarrassed that you were about to cry? That was me that day. I put them in time-out for a very long time. They all knew they were in big trouble because they didn't challenge me. What made it even worse is that I know their doctor's nurse. She used to work on pediatrics and she would float to the NICU or I would float to peds and see her.

I really can't tell you much about what the doctor said. Ethan is in the 50th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight. Mia is in the 5th percentile for height and 10th percentile for weight. They didn't get their kindergarten shots since they won't be going this next year. I should have requested them, though! If I would have known how they were going to behave...

Happy Birthday Princess

I think part of the fun and surprise of having a baby is not finding out whether it's a boy or a girl. I figured I'd buy two boy outfits and two girl outfits to take them home in, and I'd return what I didn't need. I was almost positive that Baby A was a boy (Ethan.) I first thought Baby B was also a boy but towards the end of my pregnancy, I changed my mind. I couldn't have been more happy when Mia was born. Could you imagine having twin boys?
Mia has always been the easier of the two. She always slept well and rarely cried. She was very easy going as a baby. She didn't require as much attention as her brother. I think God did that on purpose. I think he knew I couldn't handle two Ethan's. God gave me a little princess!
She's not as innocent as she looks. In fact, she's my sneaky one. She's the one that takes candy, hides under Ethan's bed, and devours it. She also likes to take boxes of Band-Aids under his bed and likes to unwrap them all. If I'm putting make-up on, she'll sneak behind me when I'm not looking and snatch my mascara. Mike is always asking me if I've taken x, y, and z. I always tell him to ask Mia. 9 times out of 10, she has the item he's looking for. She'll purposely instigate things with her siblings. She'll take a toy they are playing with and run as fast as she can. She'll take a piece of their candy and book-it out of the room. She'll follow me into the bathroom and before the other two get there, she'll lock the door. You can imagine how well that goes over. She purposely put gum in Grandpa Tom's hair. I had to cut it out while trying not to laugh.
She also loves doing arts and crafts. Mia could paint all day if I'd let her. She is so excited to show me her preschool artwork. She brings home some funny stuff! She always colors on herself. I can't tell you how many colors her face has been. Mia loves to swing and jump on the trampoline. Mia always races to her favorite swing before the other two can get it.
Mia loves to cuddle. She'd sit on my lap all day if she had the choice. She says "I love you" so cute. It blends all together into one word. She tells me I'm pretty every day. She loves to be tickled. She comes up to me and says, "tickle me, Mommy" and runs away. I chase her down and she giggles and giggles. She called herself "Maya" for the longest time. The teacher had to ask me how to pronounce her name because she thought she was saying her name wrong all year.

She is absolutely in love with horses. I wish we could get one for her. She would be in heaven. She is giddy whenever she sees one. My aunt and uncle let her ride their horses over Christmas. I've never seen her more excited. She giggled the entire time. She isn't afraid of them at all. Any time she asks for a toy or a movie, it involves horses. She likes the white ones.
She loves playing babies and house. She is usually the baby and she makes Riley be the mom. She has the annoying baby cry down pat. Riley comes running. She is getting into Barbie Dolls and I love playing with her. Our Barbies always have to go on horse rides.
She is such a girly-girl. Everything she wears is pink or purple and has butterflies or hearts on it. She would like to wear skirts every day. For her birthday, she wore her flower girl dress. She couldn't have looked cuter. She is finally letting me fix her hair. She usually likes it in a braid. She always tells me monsters are going to get her when she sleeps. She didn't want to go to bed one night and told me there was a bee in her room that was going to bite her leg.
I'm so happy that God blessed us with Mia. I couldn't imagine her any other way. She's a joy to have! I love you very much, sweetie.

My Spiderman

Happy 4th Birthday to my Spiderman! I still remember the day I found out I was pregnant. I was back home at my parents' house for Kelly's high school graduation. I took a test and I couldn't believe my eyes. I called Mike at 8am central time. Phoenix was an hour earlier, so it was 7am there. He was still sleeping (no surprise there.) I remember him groggily answering the phone. I told him that he was going to be a Daddy. His first reply was, "what?" I repeated it and then he asked, "are you sure?" I think it took a little while to sink in for him!

Ethan is a goofball. He is always making silly faces and loves to have a good time. He is very energetic and doesn't stop from the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed. He is 100% boy but his sisters rub off on him too. He has a softer side and will play babies and house with them. He occasionally likes to put on Mia's clothes. He'll probably kill me one day for saying that. He always asks to have his fingernails painted when I'm doing mine. He always picks the color green.

He is very very strong-willed. He is very particular about the way he likes things. I have to make his peanut butter toast just right or he won't eat it. He is also picky about the color of plate his food goes on and the color of glass he uses. He picks out all of his own clothes, including socks and underwear.
Ethan is a momma's boy. He is only cuddly when he's tired or sick and he'll say to me, "hold me, mommy, hold me." I drop whatever I'm doing and snuggle him. He always wants me to lay by him until he falls asleep. He never lets me get too far away and always seems to be in the same room as me.
Some of his favorite things to do is to ride his bike. He's really fast at it and whips around the yard. He loves playing hide and seek and always cheats by peeking. He likes to read books but only at night when he's tired. One of his favorite books is about muscles, bones, and body parts. It's kind of a strange book for a little boy to like, but he requests it every night.
Ethan has turned into an extremely picky eater. He likes to tell me that I make "ucky suppers." He does like to eat peanut butter, cinnamon rolls, donuts, pancakes with no syrup, anything sweet, green beans, bananas, yogurt, steak, juice, oatmeal, cereal, and cream of wheat.


He absolutely loves to do arts and crafts. He asks every day if he can paint. I'd let him do it too if it wasn't so messy. He's getting really good at coloring and staying in the lines. He is so proud of his artwork he brings home from preschool. He won't come into the house until he has emptied his book bag and has shown me everything he has made.
He continues to be naked 99% of the time. The only time he has clothes on is for preschool and daycare. The second he gets in the house, he strips. I can't tell you how many times I walk around my house and find random articles of clothing and always wonder if they're clean or not.
He is a lover of Spiderman. He likes to copy his poses. He likes to crouch like Spiderman and shoot his webs. It took me forever to get his Spiderman Halloween costume packed away. He always asks to watch, "Peter Parker black Spiderman." I have no idea where he heard that from or what it is. He gets so mad when I don't get him the perfect, "Peter Parker black Spiderman" show to watch.
I love my little boy and feel blessed to be his mom. The first few years were kind of hard, but I wouldn't trade it. I hope he eases up on me a bit though. :)

Birthday Party Time

We had Ethan and Mia's birthday party at the Xcite Family Fun Center. They have bouncy houses and tons of arcade games. The kids did really well with the bouncy houses. I thought Mia would be too scared to go down the slides, but she did it!

We ordered some pizza while we were there. I wasn't expecting too much but it was pretty decent--at least for a child play center. The best part, by far, was leaving the mess! We'll definitely go back.

The kids had a blast. We were there for three hours which we thought was quite a bit of time. It was fair to say that the adults wanted to leave way sooner than the kids!

This bouncy house was an obstacle course. Ethan had me go through it a few times with him. It was quite a bit of work! I was out of breath by the time I got through it.










I told the bakery at Hy-Vee that I had a set of twins turning 4. I told her one liked Spider-Man and one liked horses. I think she was expecting me to get two different cakes. I asked her to combine it onto one cake. She gave me the funniest look. I was slightly nervous to see what it was going to look like, but I think it turned out cute.




Here's another attempt at a family picture. Maybe I should just give up. :)