"Are you talkin' to me?"

It is one of those calm moments when all the kids are doing something and getting along. Love those moments. The kids (Lauren, Brady and Max) spent the day at Grandma's. They played with cousin Nathan and had a ball. Where they the best behaved they could have been? No. Where they great listeners? No. But they had fun. I tried to sit back and just let them have some fun. It was nice. I really hope as they grow they become friends to each other. I keep telling them that friends will come and go, but their siblings will always be there! I hope they take it to heart!
Walker is starting to ask me different compound words and is trying to read. He is really getting the hang of it! Lauren, while sneaky and sometimes whiney, loves to write. She is getting the hang of letters and words. She is always giving Doug and I envelopes addressed to us with special pictures. She leaves them on our bed or where she thinks we'll find it! Too precious. Then there's Brady. He LOVES to color. He is really starting to stay in the lines and color appropriate to reality. Right now he is showing Max all his favorite toys! Max is captivated.
I wanted to add a little about my marriage. Last night Doug and I took turns working out. He went to the gym, then I went. When I got home, I decided to put trash out since that is alway "his" job. It is still pretty icy out and it took me a good while to open the gate (snow packed) and get everything to the curb. I had a great appreciation for what I always took to be "his" job. Proud of my selfless act, I came in and before I could tell him what wonderful favor I had done him, he said he had a bath and candles ready for me. Wow. Here I thought I was the considerate one!

Picture: My big Max in his high chair. I think he looks a LOT like my dad!

So yesterday's excitement was that the tooth fairy got to visit again! Walker lost his second tooth at school and was so excited to bring it home to show us! He had a meltdown at dinner and the tooth fairy almost decided not to come but alas, he got himself together and she came. This kept all the kids upstairs at all night except that Brady said he was scared of the tooth brush (he meant fairy). That meant a few trips up the stairs in the middle of the night, but so be it. I have to say my favorite thing right now is watching how good they all are with Max. They are so fascinated with each little mile stone! They love to help and hold him whenever they can. Even Brady who is usually too busy to slow down and play with a baby stops to snuggle with him from time to time. He even let Max borrow "tiny blanket" his absolute favorite of all blankies yesterday. Brady is the only one with an attachment to a blankie.
Lauren did tumbling again yesterday. She is loving having an activity all her own. Walker is doing basketball and now she has her tumbling.
This picture is of the kids watching a movie with Max. I had put in a Baby Einstein for him and they sat with him and watched after baths and showers (my second least favorite thing to do behind putting them to bed).

Ode to Legos

Well, I have to give it to my brother who bought Walker Spongebob lego sets for both his b-day and x-mas. I was ok with the one on his b-day because he was here to help Walker put it together. Not so much the x-mas one. Thanks! The box says 6 and up. I am going to write the manufacturer and recommend 35 and up because it was a challenge for me! All of that frustration behind me, I do have to say that they love to play with it! By they, I mean Brady, Lauren and Walker. It has provided hours of entertainment during this very bleak and cold winter. That and the movie Annie! Wait until you hear Brady try to sing "Someday I'll step on their freckles" from the song Little Girls that Ms. Hannigan sings! Too cute. These are pictures I took of the kids enjoying Uncle Steve's Lego gifts and I had to add Mr. Maxwell in the outfit Uncle David gave him for x-mas! He was so cute! David was very thoughtful and generous this x-mas! Thank You!
I know you are dying to know how bed time is going, and I am here to report that it is a 12 cup coffee day! Brady was up moaning for me 2-3 times last night. Max must have felt left out, because he filled in the gaps while Brady slept. Doug keeps telling me I'll miss these days when they are gone. Will I? Will I really? The days, yes, the nights, not so much!

Old School

Loving the old school toys and shows! Can you guess which chipmunk Walker is? Simon! He came up with the look all by himself. He has always loved dressing in character. When he was little, he used to dress himself as Capt. Feathersword from the Wiggles. The costume looked nothing like the good Capt, but he thought so! They have also been into watching Full House. I remember when that was the show to watch on Friday nights! Lauren is saying "Have Mercy" all the time like Uncle Jesse. "How Rude" by Stephanie has also found its way into their vocabulary! America's Funniest Home Videos is also a popular one in our house right now. If you are thinking this is too much TV, please keep in mind it is the middle of winter when we have 2 feet of snow out there and -25 degree temps, so cut me some slack!

I think I like this day-to-day writing! Anywho, Lauren slept until almost 9 am today! Crazy girl! Doug and Walker went back to school today. I got to spend some time with Max and Brady this morning. Max is playing in his exersaucer (thank Ali and Jesse!) and loves it, but he is getting restless now. Brady is coloring, he LOVES to color. We are still struggling with bed time! It takes them a good 1-1/2 hours to settle down up there and go to sleep, and when they do finally crash, they get "scared" and sneak down here. One likes to watch TV all night (woops, think that might be my genes at work) and one likes to cuddle in my bed and take up all the space! While they did not settle down very well last night, they did all stay up there! I suppose that is something! Otherwise, we are just plugging along! Looking forward to getting back to "normal", if you could call it that today! Lo-Lo, as Brady calls her and Brady get along pretty well, so hopefully they will play nicely today!

Peaks and Valleys

I would like to try to get back into the groove of blogging. Hopefully this will be something my kids can look back at and remember some of the little things as well as the big things that go on from day to day.

It is Sunday and I am home with the 4 critters while Doug works. For some reason, today is always the toughest for us. Tempers and power struggles flare big time on Sundays. Don't know why.
Cutism for today: Walker asked if he and Max (almost 5 mos old) are "diagonal twins" instead of identical twins. We are always telling him how much Max looks like him when he was a baby. So in a way, maybe they are diagonal twins!
Lauren is pushing my buttons today. She is tired and it shows! She has been wearing her bikini swimsuit (it has been literally -25 degrees outside) saying she looks like a mommy (I think she wants it to be like she is wearing a bra and underwear).
Brady has a direct line to the police, or so he thinks. Everytime I tell him something he doesn't want to hear, he says "I'm telling the police on you". That is at least 10 times a day. He also has his "new friend" coming to pick him up. There is no such person (kind of sad) but he waits for her to rescue him from picking up, going to bed, going to church etc. When the others are on his good side, they get to go with him. If he is mad at them, they don't get to go. It is quite the elaborate story he has going on.
Max is too cute for his own good. He smiles tons! He can really sit himself up and is more aware than I remember the others being at this point. He is finally getting some chub on him which I love! His chubby little thighs are irresistable! I wish mine were!
I hope I can get through the rest of the day without losing my cool! I am really trying not to curse, yell, or spank. This is a lot to handle, so I am taking it one step at a time. I have been working on the cursing, which is going pretty well. It is going to take mountains of self control for the yelling. The spanking, I have also been doing pretty well with. Peaks and valleys. Feels like I am climbing a tall peak! Climbing some, slipping back some.

As Time Goes By

So we have had our first graduation. Walker graduated from Preschool last Thursday. As he said, it was the best night of his life. Was it the anticipation of Kindergarten? Was it seeing all of his friends dress up? No, it was the realization of his lifelong dream: To be on stage and talk in a microphone. He got to say "I want to be a cop when I grow up". He was the only public officer in the bunch. Someone must have started a lifeguard trend, because half said they wanted to be lifeguards (clearly not planning to stay in the landlocked state of Nebraska) and the other half said mail carrier. We are very proud of our Walker. To justify the name of this blog, allow me to brag: Walker was asked at swim lessons to advance early since he out swims his eel classmates. This has given him immense confidence in the water and he can't wait to keep going with lessons. I chose to have him stay put to learn what he could from this class. Move over Michael Phelps!
Lauren is progressing as her second session as a pike. She is trying, but does not have the same confidence as Walker in the water. We took them swimming this weekend, and I noticed more independence from her in the water, so I think slowly but surely she will get the hang of it.
Brady has mastered the fine art of potty training. It took him a LONG time to poop in the potty for me, but we are finally there! Now that he knows he is a big boy, he sleeps in his underwear and has had no night time accidents. He is our little big boy!