Birthday Girl Celebration

Last week we celebrated a birthday in our house.  Our sweet little girl, Gwendolyn, turned 2!!

We had a fun Curious George birthday with lots of fun decorations, most of which were colored and cut out by Neal.  He loved getting to choose the decorations for the party.   

We were able to have Aunt Wendy and Lauren out from Texas so it made for an extra special celebration, especially since Tyler was on a trip with TWR.  I'll just let the assortment of pictures tell the story of her birthday.   I will say that balloons and jewelry were some of her favorite birthday surprises.

Gwen has been such a joy to have in our family.  She is so sweet and kind to all her brothers.  We can already see her motherly nature as she tries to care for everyone.  She smiles and laughs all the time and can always be found following after Neal, copying everything that her big brother does.   She doesn't say much yet but can still find ways to communicate what she wants and needs.  She loves to play superhero with her brother, jump on the trampoline, brush her teeth and wear any and every pair of shoes she can find in the house, no matter who's shoes.  I can't wait to see what the next year holds for her and how she will grow and change.  

Happy Birthday sweet Gwendolyn!!

Life these days...

The last few months have seemed to both fly by and move slowly all at the same time.  These days I have found myself staying much closer to the house then months before, having twins has had a big part in that.  It now takes me about 30 minutes to get everyone ready and out to the car, so running lots of errands and going places doesn't happen to often.

I do feel accomplished in the fact that I have managed to find a way to go grocery shopping with a toddler, two infants in carseats and a 5 year old.  It's not the easiest shopping trip but we have found a way to get it done.  We also have what we call our "bus" that we take everywhere.  It fits both infant carseats and now has a glider attached for Gwen to ride on.  Without this stroller/"bus" I don't think i would be going many places at all, it has been the best piece of equipment we have had for the twins thus far.

This last month Neal has been tracked out of school (which means he's on break), since we have year round school here he gets breaks throughout the year instead of the whole summer off.  The month of September is his longest break and we have enjoyed having him around the house, Gwen has enjoyed having him around the most since he provides hours of entertainment for her.  We have managed to fill our days with lots of crafts, park play dates and other activities.  My favorite new routine in our home is the introduction of the chore chart.  

Why it took me so long to start this I have no idea because it has been wonderful!  Neal loves knowing what is expected of him and it is great to be able to have something set in stone that we can all refer to throughout the week in regards to helping out around the house.  Plus my house is in more order way more often with the extra help. Thanks to some fun gifts from Aunt Rachel, even Gwen has enjoyed some new chores around the house.

Who knew the duster was more fun to play with then toys and ends up being helpful to me too....my walls, tables and molding have never been so clean!

It's been three months now since we transitioned from a family of 4 to a family of 6 and we are doing well.  Babies grow and change so quickly and we are loving watching the boys change and grow each day.  Three months already since the boys joined our family, look how they have already changed...

This is how the monthly photo shoots really look

They are starting to show off their personalities a bit now and we love seeing their unique personalities start to form.  Donovan is always smiling and Paul tries to "talk" quit a bit.

The big highlight of this last month however was the chance to get away with my hubby - Kid free!! We got to go out for a night to celebrate our 10th anniversary.  Thanks to a sweet family from our church who watched all four children for us we were able to go out and see Seinfeld perform at the performing arts center, and Tyler made it extra special by taking me out in style with a fancy car he rented for the evening.  

Hard to believe that we have been married for 10 years already, but what a great 10 years it has been and a blessed 10 years filled with job changes, moves, kids and lots of great memories.

Let School begin...

First School Picture - Kindergarten 2015-2016

We have now entrained into a new stage of family life, School.   Neal started Kindergarten this year and to say that he likes it would be an understatement, he LOVES it!  

We are in a district with year round school and so Neal started his school year the beginning of July.  He is getting ready to end his first quarter the end of this week and will have his first big break.  He loves being around his friends all day and comes home with lots of stories, mostly about what him and his friends played on the playground and how much fun lunch is with everyone in the cafeteria.

It sure has made the house different during the day having our oldest gone at school.  The house is really quiet but in a way it makes for a nice way to get things done with one of four children not underfoot.

Gwen doesn't seem to mind that Neal is gone all day, however she does squeal with joy when it is time to pick up her big brother from the bus stop.   She runs to find her shoes and backpack, both in the morning and afternoon, to head to the bus stop with me.   The littlest boys in the house are also doing great with big brother gone.  We have managed to get them on a good schedule so that they are happy and sleeping during the bus drop off and pick-up times.  

It is so fun to see how fast Neal is learning things.  He has already leaned quite a few of his sight words and will "read" what he knows when he sees these words appear in a book.  He has even been found "reading" to his brothers and playing school with his toys.

He comes home with so many different drawings and stories at the end of the week.  What I love is trying to decipher what he has written about since his sentences consist of mostly only the fist and last letter of a word.  I have had fun trying to "read" his stories that go along with his drawings.  

"I see a shark.  The shark is fast"

I like to play with my friends"

Manytimes I will hear Neal tell me how much he loves school and how he doesn't want to stay home Saturday and Sunday but go to school every single day.   What a joy to know that he loves this new routine.  Now the trick will be to find ways to entertain all four kiddos while Neal is out of school for the next month or perhaps they will entertain themselves...