321 Family

It's Fall?!

2011-10-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

When the sun is shining, you have to keep the air on and the weatherman says another week of 80 degree temps it's hard to believe it really is fall. But alas it is...

Reagan and Claire are full steam ahead at school. This year they go MWF from 8-12:30, it's a big enough chunk of time that Caroline and I can get things done. In school they have been baking, working on their writing, playing on the playground, and getting messy with paint. They LOVE their teachers and even tell them "I love you" sometimes when they leave in the afternoon. Today was their first field trip, to a pumpkin patch. They were most excited that they got to ride on the bus...and the bus had no seat belts! I guess that's fun when you are four but when you are thirty something it's just not the same.

The leaves on the trees are just starting to change. I noticed as Caroline and I drove up Meridian today while running some errands. It was such a beautiful day, except for the fact that Caroline had forced me to listen to Veggie tales again it would have been perfect.

I packed up the kids summer clothes this past weekend, what a chore. A pile of clothing up to my waist, trying to decide what might fit who next year, what to keep, toss, sell...keeping track of wardrobes is a full time job in itself. I had the hardest time putting away the swimsuits, we might still use them in doors but it's just not the same as the outdoor pool at the Y, that we spent a lot of time at this summer or the BEACH!

The final straw that it's fall was actually today while bathing the kids, their tan lines were all almost faded. It didn't matter how much sun screen I lathered on them they still ended up with tan lines, I wish it was that easy for me.

We are excited for Halloween, apple pie, pumpkins and jumping in leaves but we are really going to miss this...

Vroom Vroom

2011-06-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a big weekend if you live in Indianapolis. Every year this town goes Ape Crazy? for 33 cars speeding around an oval. Sure they go fast-think 225ish mph-put your arm up in the air and you'll probably tear up your shoulder. Try to take a picture of a car going that fast with a point and shoot-not easy. Well some 300,000 people go to this "greatest spectacle in racing". (We don't really know how many exactly because the George family is weird like that).

Recently, well more like for over the past year, our children have turned into true Hoosier and become obsessed with this "racing thing". Not just any racing- Indycar. Don't go trying to sell them on Nascar. Reagan has already been through many drivers, he started on Helio, then Dario and now he is a Will Power fan. Guess who the girls like....Danica. Argh. What a great role model right? Oh well, better than Paris Hilton.

We took the kids to Qualifying a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. For $20 we got parking and two tickets, kids were free! Cheap family entertainment-another reason to love racing? Also we got to bring our own food and drinks in-SCORE! We all had a wonderful time, pretty sure Reagan could have watched for days.

To be continued!

Rain Rain Go Away

2011-03-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

Another weekend of rain here. We decided to put on the rain gear and head to the zoo despite the weather. The great thing about a yearly membership is that if you have to leave after only an hour it doesn't really matter. The kids had fun jumping in puddles...and yes even seeing a few animals. Too bad on top of the rain many exhibits were closed, they open again in a few weeks with warthogs and bat exhibits, just what I always wanted to see up close. Can't wait for summer so we can spend our week days at the zoo and parks!

Reagan tells Daddy all about meerkats?

We did not see any living walruses so this will have to do...

Caroline considers the sharks Claire loves jumping in the puddles!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-16T12:12:00.000-08:00

Very Random photos...
Caroline in her crib which Reagan and Claire had filled with every blanket, pillow and stuffed animal from their room.

Cupcakes from Caroline's birthday party

Three kids at the IMS musuem(lego replica of speedway behind them)

Reagan's favorite car, it was a tough choice!

Sweet Caroline...

2011-02-09T19:18:00.001-08:00

I've been meaning to write a "happy birthday" letter to Caroline for some time. I've postponed it for many reasons...sickness, weather, a busy life, but mostly because I don't want to believe it. My baby is two. MY BABY!

You might think with an older brother and sister than she would be ready to grow up and in some ways that is true but not always. When I asked her the other day if she wanted a pillow like the big kids had she refused and said "NO! BIG! GIRL!". She knows she is my baby. She wants me to rock her and sing to her still. She walks around with her doggy and pacy(which by the way I SHOULD think about taking away, ugh) and always always wants me to carry her.

I never went through this with Reagan and Claire. They were too busy. The never cuddled like Caroline cuddled. Maybe it's because they were twins? Maybe because by the time they were her age she was already born(whoa!)? Maybe because I had a lot more help with them so I think they were more willing to go to anyone? Maybe because I didn't nurse them for long, or because they weren't swaddled as well, they spent too much time in bouncey seats, watched baby einstein....whoa! Guilty mom anyone?

I never had to feel guilty with Caroline. She is the third child but she feels more like my first. Twins are an amazing thing. They take a ton of work but get you a ton of attention. They always have each other which is comforting as a parent because they are never alone but also in a way can make you feel left out. Caroline was MY baby. I didn't have to share her. In fact for the first year I was it for her. I carried her in the baby carrier everywhere and nursed her on demand. I would never give back the experience of having twins but THIS is what I pictured when I thought about having a child. A single child. All those things you picture doing as a new parent are hard to do with two, Caroline gave me some of those things back. It's purely selfish and honestly when Reagan and Claire were one year I decided that I could be happy with two children and I think I could have been. I'm just really glad I didn't have to be.

So here it goes...

Sweet Baby Caroline,

Thanks for being the third child. Thanks for being an easy pregnancy, easy baby and easy toddler(sometimes). I could live with out the temper tantrums in the library and throwing things in the grocery store. I couldn't live with out the pig tails and sweet little voice. I love that instead of saying yes you say "huh". I love hearing you sing "Wish you merry Christmas happy new year" on your "stage" even in February. I love hearing you walk in your squeaky shoes and reading you God Loves you books twenty times in a row. Keep it up, and I'll keep calling you baby Caroline.

Love,

Mom

(token cute picture taken by Jennifer)

Quotes of the week

2011-02-05T18:20:00.000-08:00

Reagan and Claire go to a Catholic school. They learn about God making the earth, people, animals etc. They sometimes like to ask- "Did God make the lamp, Did He make the tv?" One day we were discussing the ocean, they have been doing a project on the ocean at school. I asked Reagan "Who do you think made the ocean?". He said-"The fifth graders"...of course.

Today we visited friends in Michigan. Claire played with their daughter who is a year older than she is. I told Claire it was time to leave and she turned to their daughter and said "It was very nice to meet you". It was adorable!

Reagan requested today in the car that we sing the MSU fight song, because we're in Michigan.

This past week we had an ice storm-three days of canceled events, don't get me started!-Reagan told me that ice is made out of glass...sure looks like it buddy!

Caroline has an amazing vocabulary for a two year old. She takes a bite of food and exclaims "delicious!". Of course she also says "I stink" and points to herself. I think maybe Reagan taught her that. The two of them are very goofy together, they definitely keep me entertained!

Reagan asks me every time I open a new box of food if I bought the food at Target. It's quite funny. He also likes to ask me about everything I give him if I bought it at the store for him. If I say "yes" he says "Thank you mom! I love you!". Awwwww, that's momma's boy!

I don't want a lot for Christmas...

2010-12-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

(Thank you Mariah Carey for the amazing song that led to the amazing title of this post...)

Everyone is our house is getting ready for Christmas, including me! Due to this fact I'm running low on inspiring blog posts and even pictures of my cute children in front on the tree. (Hopefully that will come soon, right Jennifer?)

So instead here are some of what they have been up to...

Last Saturday we took our friends Matt and Laura, in town from Michigan, and went to get a tree. Once home and almost decorated Claire decided that we should put the star on top...and that the perfect song for this occasion would be the ABC's. It was pure magic.

Speaking of Claire my darling three year old who cannot sit still in mass but insists that she "loves church". She recently told her father who was sitting on the couch to "stand up". He complied, she then told him to "do like this" and she bowed. So he did. After that she said "now eat this" and gave him a pretend piece of food. Next he was told to "drink the water". Finally she told him to "go sit down again". And that in a nutshell is what Claire thinks being a Catholic is all about...her version of receiving communion.

Last night we went to preschool for a birthday party for Jesus. We were surprised to find out that Reagan has several friends. Not that he wouldn't but we expected Claire to be into the "friend thing" and Reagan to just go play with trains. He apparently does have a following at school. We met several of his "school" friends, including Nathan. Who is apparently quiet fond of the little guy and proceed to introduce himself to me(he just turned four) and then chased my son around the gym for 30 minutes. Gotta love boys!

What to say about Caroline...let's just say that we are down approximately six to seven ornaments since Saturday. Today she threw one, smashed it, then got out her play broom to sweep it all up. Like she planned it. Every morning she tells her Dad to "go take a shower" and points him to the bathroom. She is a little ball of fun but I'm going to have my hands full, that you can count on!

Falling for Fall

2010-11-10T11:06:00.000-08:00

It's hard to imagine anything can beat the excitement of Halloween as a child. Dressing up as your favorite characters. Running around the neighborhood with parents and friends. Filling bags with candy. I feel very lucky because I did find something that beat all of those things combined...watching your own children do all of those things. I know what it feels like to be a parent finally. All those years of hearing "You'll understand when you have your own kids...". Well I understand now and as much as I hate to admit it everyone was right. I go to enjoy hayrides, carving pumpkins, dressing up and getting all that candy through the eyes of my fairy princess, little monkey and route 66.
picking pumpkins at the farm with MOPS

driving the school bus

Hay ride, hope Uncle Jerry is a good driver!

"Trick or Treat"

Yay!

2010-10-20T18:54:00.001-07:00

Never in my life did I think...

potty training would be so difficult.

I could get that excited about poop in the potty.

life could get crazier than it already was.

working from home would translate to "working all the time".

I woud be so grateful for all the craziness.

I could complain more but this is what I wanted. Getting the kids (well at least the first two)wasn't easy but it's what I dreamed of and more. I spent the morning with other moms discussing raising girls. I spent the afternoon in the sun on a beautiful fall days with my friends and my children's friends at the park. I spent the evening relaxing with my husband(and working a little!). Feeling tired, but very blessed!

Will update with pics soon! And yes, I think I might be down to one child in diapers!!!! Woohoo!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

Vacation
Harrisville, Mi
August 2010

Apple for the Teacher...

2010-08-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

Last night was the first time I had to make lunches for school.

This morning was the first time I had to set the alarm to make sure we made it to school in time.

This afternoon was the first time I got to pick up two children, my babies, after a fun day at school.

After little convincing they loved it...

and just in case you were wondering, Caroline loved time with Mommy too.

Oh the things we say...

2010-07-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Today I told Claire I loved her, she told me she loved ice cream. In her defense, so do I.

When asked what she likes Claire says Princesses, clouds, sunshine and ice cream. (girly girl alert!). I asked her again today what she likes and she just said Princess, so I asked what else and she said "more princesses".

Yesterday Reagan was sitting at the table having a snack and started goofing off with Caroline, it got a little out of hand so I said "Do you want me to take away your life?". Luckily his snack was Life cereal.

Today at the grocery store with Reagan and Claire we stopped to get some alcoholic beverages for Daddy but Claire asked out of the blue "That for Uncle Lance". What a great Uncle/Godfather.

One time when I was putting Reagan in his car seat he bumped his head, now EVERY TIME I got to put him in he says "Mom don't hurt me". Just what I want the people parked next to me to hear!

While riding the mechanical horse (1 penny at Meijer best bargain in town!) Reagan and Claire throw one arm the in air like they are going to lasso something and yell Giddy up! It's hilarious, I have no idea where they learn these things.

Interview with a Toddler

2010-07-06T07:37:00.001-07:00

This morning I had a hard hitting interview with twins Reagan and Claire. They've been on the scene for over three years now and this is my first time sitting down with them...

Reagan

Favorite color- Red(oddly the same color as my pen...)
Favorite Movie- Cars
Favorite Food- Peas(asked to specify and he says he likes the crunchy baked Trader Joes kind-reporter speculates that Reagan could be a spokesperson for Trader Joes...)
Best friend-Thomas, no Henry, Thomas and Henry
Favorite Toy- A car
Lucky number- 10
Favorite animal- Tiger
Favorite place to go- library

Claire

Favorite color- purple
Favorite movie-"Princess" (she loves the free Fisher Price dvd that is 10 minutes long, she watches it over and over and over...)
Favorite food CAKE!
Best friend- Eleanor (because she can say it?)
Favorite toy- babies (last thing she played with as well)
Lucky number- 8
Favorite animal- Lion (are my kids Detroit fans or something?)
Favorite place to go- Restaurant

Doubley Blessed

2010-06-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

When I found out (almost four years ago...wow!) that we were pregnant with not just one but two babies I have to admit I wasn't completely excited at first. Telling people you are pregnant with twins definitely gets you a reaction and it goes two ways for the most part-

"Oh wow you are so lucky!"

or

"OH, WOW...what are you going to do?"

I most definitely started out in the "what are we going to do category". Here we are living 4 hours away from any family in a new city. I had one friend(Tara!). That's it...

Enter Northside Twins and Multiples Club. A group of ladies who get together once a month for meetings and many times a month for Mom's night out, play groups, etc etc. Once I got over the first few meeting jitters this group became a true blessing to me. I met many great people including a group of ladies who have twins close in age to mine. We get together several times a week if we can for the park, zoo, children's museum and lunch dates at each other's houses. When we are away my children go into withdrawal and so do I.

I can now say that I have plenty of friends in Indianapolis-most of them have something special in common with me that I realize IS a blessing, twins! So what if my children now think everyone comes in pairs(even Caroline), they have some amazing friends for three year olds(and a one year old).

Thanks ladies(and kids)!

and thanks for the pic again jennifer...

Red, White and Pink

2010-05-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

We had the All-American weekend. We started it going strawberry picking on Thursday, nine pounds of strawberries later Mommy had no idea what to do with all the juicy red berries Claire and friends had picked. (Reagan and Caroline came but chose to mostly not participate). I finally ended up making strawberry topping to go with pound cake(yum), freezing some and sharing with neighbors.

Saturday we went to a parade, what's more American on Memorial weekend than that? Add to that the fact that it's the Indy 500 festival parade and you've had the recipe for a great afternoon. We enjoyed watching the floats, balloons, and drivers drive by us. We also enjoyed the mostly "D" list celebs-Florence Henderson(Hoosier native), the Pointer sisters, Ashley Judd and the Baha Men(yes, I know this doesn't even count as "d" list, but I HAD to mention it).

Reagan absolutely LOVED the parade-esp anything race car related, he's a true Hoosier!

All American Girl

We also spent time with Family. Ryan's parent came down for a visit. The kids loved it. they went to breakfast, help in the yard(woohoo!) and we all enjoyed some good grilled food thanks to Ryan.

Of course you might be wondering where the pink comes in... No it's not the outfit Caroline wore on Friday, or Claire's second favorite color(purple is first of course). No, it was the diagnosis Reagan got Monday morning at Urgent Care...pink eye. Oh the Joys of being a parent!

Stupendous!

2010-05-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Is that even a word? I might need to look it up, it's one of Claire's favorite things to say and I would hate to think I'm letting things like this go. Actually I let it go when she says a lot of things incorrectly, I can't help it, I'm definitely not an expert(although her father and both Aunts surely are). She miss uses "Me" and "I" on a regular basis but I won't complain, she is talking up a storm, a year ago I was worried she wasn't talking enough.

Reagan has also come a long way, especially physically. The little boy who didn't walk until 18 months can now swing from monkey bars, climb rock walls and beat his sister in a race(sometimes he can even beat Claire...).

Caroline is growing by leaps and bounds. She has a little bump on her head from climbing on top of the ottoman and falling off. She yells, literally yells, all kinds of words now(mama, dada, crackers, Claire, dog, nose, etc etc). She also brushes her teeth and partially undresses herself for bath time-she wants to be just like the twins. I can't believe my BABY is so grown up!

Enjoy some recent pictures...

My little monkey
She can"do it myself!"
Big girl eating an apple(or as she would say "APPLE!")
So Proud or herself(and I'm proud of them too, can you tell?)

If I weren't a Mother...

2010-05-07T09:28:00.001-07:00

I wouldn't get to go to the zoo once a week

I wouldn't get to buy tutu's and tiaras

I wouldn't blow bubbles

I wouldn't have met some of my amazing friends

I wouldn't get Mom's night outs

I would be caught up on my laundry

I wouldn't get sunburns in the middle of the week

I wouldn't get to explain why they sky is blue or grass is green

I wouldn't stay up all night holding a sick baby

I wouldn't know what Dinosaur Train or Caillou was

I wouldn't need "special" carts at the grocery store

I wouldn't be a part of the twins "club"

I wouldn't know what MOPS stood for

I wouldn't be posting this blog

And I wouldn't get to look at these faces every day...

PS Thanks for the pics Jennifer!

Wordless Wednesday-SWING!

2010-04-14T09:22:00.001-07:00

Kidisms

2010-04-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

Reagan(after getting his dinner plate)-"Mom I want something else"
Me-"What would you like?"
Reagan-"I can't think"

Today at the pediatricians office-
DR to me "Do you have any questions?"
Me-"No"
Dr to the kids-"Do you guys have any questions?"
Reagan-"Dinosaurs"

Reagan talking to Ryan
"What's that" pointing to nothing
Ryan-"I don't see anything"
Reagan="What's anything"
Ryan"I don't know, it's nothing"
Reagan"What nothing"
Ryan"I don't know buddy"
Reagan"What's I don't know"

Claire's favorite things to say

"I love to dance!"
"Candy cupcakes icecream"

Caroline's favorite things to say
"Mama" "Dada" "apple" "turtle" "I want to go downstairs"?

It's a Good Friday....

2010-04-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

The weather is beautiful, Grandma and Papa Wil and Aunt Katie are heading our way, MSU is playing the final four tomorrow and I have these three kiddos to enjoy it all with. Have a great Easter!

Spring!

2010-03-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

It's finally spring. To celebrate we have been spending lots and lots of time outside. We go for walks around the neighborhood, play in the backyard and a few weeks ago we went to the zoo with friends Henry and Eleanor.
Swing
Claire at the zoo
The twins loved looking at the...flowers
Caroline exhausted from the morning of fun!

Wordless Wednesday-It's Spring!

2010-03-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

Very Bad Blogger!

2010-02-21T12:42:00.001-08:00

I have been horrible at updating this blog lately! I would say I will get better but I don't want to lie.

I can't believe I only have one more month to say I have three kids under Three, time flies. Caroline turned one last month and we celebrated with some friends, pizza and cupcakes! It was so fun and I do have pictures to post thanks to a friend, but it won't be until later, sorry!

We picked a preschool for Reagan and Claire to start next year, I still can't believe they will heading off to school, granted it's two half days a week. Caroline and I will have lots of time to get errands done, it should be great for all of us!

And now for what you've been waiting for...

Sledding...Uncle Lance took them last Monday.

Caroline is big girl now, she has been walking for over a month

She loves fruit, including rasberries

Uncle Lance with his three favorite nieces and nephews.

Christmas in pictures...

2010-01-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

They're a little out of order but you get the idea. I'm feeling pretty good that I uploaded them at this point!

Claire by the tree at Grandma and Grandpa Wil's house-New Years eve I believe
Claire getting into the spirit before bed...
Caroline
All the kids-don't mind the coats and pj's look, we went to look at lights before bed!

2010-01-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

opening gifts

Caroline's first Christmas

2010-01-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

Loving on Grandpa Wilmering

Cooking with Grandma Wilmering
Playing with Aunt Katie

2010-01-08T11:45:00.001-08:00

The slide at the musuem with Daddy
Reagan with Uncle Lance

Enjoying one of our gifts

2010-01-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

My parents renewed our membership to the Childrens Musuem so we took a trip the day after Christmas, it had been awhile but the kids new exactly where to go!
Not surprisingly, Uncle Lance didn't know where to go...

The barbie exhibit with Grandma Adams

Christmas Day...

2010-01-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

Is that little red riding hood? No it's Claire!

2010-01-08T11:42:00.000-08:00

Caroline with Grandpa Adams, Caroline sadly didn't feel well for her first Christmas
Looking a little better
Is that Abby Cadabby?
Trains, that's all he wanted and all he has played with since...

Tree Shopping

2009-12-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we decided it was time to go get our Christmas tree. This was our only tree and it wasn't cutting it (even if the baby in front is really cute)

We took the kids up to Zionsville where we have bought our last three Christmas trees. We thought the kids could help us pick one.

Reagan was miserable and wanted the first tree we saw. I think he knew Thomas the Train toys were inside.

Claire picked this tree...it wasn't really one of our options but she liked it-of course, it's sparkly.

The Hired Help

2009-11-17T10:56:00.000-08:00

It will be awhile, like never, before we can afford to have someone rake our leaves and do all the other little chores around the yard and house that none of us want to do. Lucky for us we have kids(although I'm pretty sure, actually postive, they are the reason we can't afford the help!).

So Sleepy

2009-11-17T10:55:00.000-08:00

Sometimes having an older brother and sister can be quite exhausting.

Little Beauties

2009-11-17T10:54:00.000-08:00

I can't help it, I think my little girls are adorable. You might think I was deprived of dolls as a child but that's not the case. To be honest Claire has started requesting to wear tights, well I GUESS...

Trick or Treat

2009-11-02T04:08:00.000-08:00

Claire was excited ALL day about going trick or treating. As soon as she got up in the morning she was in her costume and talking about it. Reagan didn't care quite as much so we weren't sure how he would do. When it came time to knock on the first door Reagan ran up with Ryan and Claire stayed on the sidewalk with Caroline and I. She was pretty nervous and for most houses would wait for Reagan to knock or ring the bell and once the bowl of candy appeared she would run up, CANDY! It usually gets her attention. They both ended up having a blast in the end, we probably only went to 12 houses but it took an hour at their pace. Claire was excited to eat her candy when we got home(one piece, she chose starburst) Reagan was excited until he realized his bucket mostly had candy in it, he ate the goldfish, candy?, he doesn't touch the stuff.

Carolines 1st Halloween

2009-11-02T04:06:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun with Caroline for her first Halloween. Unlike Reagan and Claire she actually went out her first year (tagging along with the twins...). She even got some loot-goldfish crackers! Here are some cute pics from the last few days...

Bad Blogger...very bad!

2009-10-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know, it's been a looonnngggg time since I've posted anything. My excuse? I HAVE THREE KIDS! Of course I'm mean that in the nicest way possible. We have been super busy with playgroups, doctors appointments (the well kind) Mommy nights out, book clubs, family visits, carving pumpkins (see below), gymnastics, etc etc etc!

I'll give you the run down one by one starting with the oldest (at a whopping 2.5 years old and nine minutes older than the next child)

Reagan is doing great! Both he and Claire will be done with speech therapy in December, while we will be sad to see Ms. Allie go it means that we have good news too, they have caught up to their peers! It's amazing some of the conversations we have with them now. Reagan can be a pretty goofy guy but also has his moments where he insists everyone follow "the rules". Like saying "your welcome" after he says "thank you". The waitress at a restaurant earlier this month learned the hard way that you BETTER respond to the extremely polite two year old or he will not be so polite anymore.

Claire is also doing well with speech and turning into what could be considered a little lady if she actually wanted to act like a lady ever. Don't get me wrong, she can be quite cute and in public for the most part she behaves but she is a two year old. She absolutely loves gymnastics-her favorite being jumping on the trampoline and hanging on the bars and rings-I still can't get over how strong she is on those things! She loves dips now but we laugh because she is constantly confusing ketchup for syrup and vice versa-although maybe when you are two ketchup would be good on pancakes? She also loves orange juice but instead of asking for juice she asks for yellow milk-mmmmm doesn't that sound good?

Caroline just had her 9 month check up-what happened to my baby? She is 19 pounds and 3 ounces-right in the middle of that growth charts. Yes the doctor confirmed it, she is perfect! She is now eating table food, having never developed a taste for baby food. She is learning to use a sippy cup because just like the baby food thing, she isn't into bottles. Last week she started pulling herself up and now I find her doing this everywhere, she is on a mission to grow up fast so she can hang with the "big kids".

I leave you with some pics of this past weekend at my Aunt Peggy and Uncle Jerry's house. We carved pumpkins, went on a hayride and ate soup-the perfect fall day.

"Labor" Day

2009-09-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

For Labor day this year we took a drive up to Michigan(again!) to visit my parents, brother and my Grandpa. The kids always have so much fun with their Grandparents and Aunt's and uncles that it's usually worth the hassle of packing and driving. This time was no exception...

Grandpa reads to Reagan and Caroline

Reagan and Claire "help" Grandma make zucchini bread

At the zoo in GR

Back to Where We Belong

2009-08-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

We've had a busy summer and to cap it off we just went to Michigan to visit the Wilmering side of the family and have Caroline's baptism at G & G Wilmering's church. It was a lot of fun playing with Auntie Cortney and Auntie Katie. I think Claire made everyone read her Green Eggs and Ham about 250 times and Reagan pointed to every truck on every street and every plane in the sky. It's fun to share them with the family, especially now that their personalities are really coming out, even Caroline's! Caroline has really started growing up fast on me! She has two bottom teeth and has been army crawling ALL over the house. She's still not a huge fan of baby food but I can't blame her. I'm confident that once she can start some real food she'll got after it with a gusto!

Lunching in the Neighborhood-Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

Touch a Truck aka Throw a Tantrum

2009-08-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Recently I took the kids to a great FREE event up in Carmel. There in a huge parking lot were tons of cars and trucks the kids could touch (who would have guessed...), look at and climb in. Of course Reagan was super excited. Have I ever mentioned he LOVES trucks and cars. If you ask him which he likes better his answer is usually "cartruck". I'm not sure what that means. We checked out two different fire trucks a bus and a police car! That was fun.

The bad parts were...
1.Waiting in line with two two year olds
2. Waiting in live with two two year olds on a hot parking lot
3. Waiting in line with two two year olds and then having someone cut in front of us!
4. Waiting in line with two two year olds while one is throwing a tantrum on the ground
5. Did I mention waiting in line with two two year olds and a BABY strapped to me?

I'm glad we went but I'm hoping outings get better!

Q: "Do you want to go play on the beach?"

2009-07-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

A: "Bus."

Who knew a kid could be so anti beach and water? Apparently Reagan prefers cars to Lake Michigan and buses to sand. We got him down to the beach eventually but it took some talking into and the promise of a truck to play with in the sand.

We had a great time on our vacation in Michigan with my parents, brother and extended family. It was a lot of packing, a little bit of a drive but tons of fun. We are all exhausted.

One of the highlights of the trip was heading to Mac Dune Buggy rides near Silver Lake. they have been there for over 80 years and I remember going on the ride when I was younger. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for the kids because they are still pretty young but Grandpa talked me into it. I'm glad he did! This was most definitely the most fun Reagan has had in a long time! Every time we race down a sand dune Reagan would yell "Again!" to the driver! It was too fun! Unfortunately his sister only liked about the first half of the ride then she was done, Dad had to hold a squirming toddler for 15 minutes while we finished the ride, turned out she was hungry. Reagan's other favorite of the trip was visiting a store in Traverse City that sells model trains, I'm telling you, the kid could have spent the whole day there!

Claire had more fun playing on the sand, in the water and with her "cousins" (my cousins kids, they don't have any cousins yet). Claire really looks up to older kids, even if it's only six months older. Anything they did she wanted to do, including eating! It was a great way to get her to try some new things. She had her first bite of hot dogs, lettuce, tomatoes and more.

Caroline was great. She had no reason not to be considering her Grandpa held her about 1/2 of everyday! They really bonded and I think she misses him!

Daddy (Ryan) had fun golfing with Uncle Lance one day so he got a break as well.

I'm sad the vacation is over. I really love Northern Michigan. Indy is great but I miss being able to go to the beach when I feel like it. I think I might be a lake snob because the Indiana lakes just don't cut it for me.

Check out the pics from our vacation below...

2009-07-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Claire on the beach with "cousin" Hayden

Claire heading down a slide in downtown Manistee

Reagan on his way down.

Claire and Reagan on the riverwalk in Manistee

2009-07-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

Reagan cleaning up at the beach house

Birthday "party" for my cousin Robin

Sunset on Lake Michigan

Reagan getting as close to the water as we could get him

2009-07-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

Reagan on the dune buggy ride

Claire stuffing her face after the dune buggy ride.

Ryan with the kids in Suttons Bay on G & G Wil's property

Mommy and Claire at lunch in Traverse City

2009-07-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

One of many bonfires

Claire in the giant adirondack chair

Claire and Uncle Lance "on" the dune buggy

2009-07-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Adams and Reagan

Claire taking a break from the lake in the pool

Uncle Lance's idea of swimming

Our mini marching band

2009-07-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

The view

Caroline on the beach in her pj's

Reagan playing in the sand

Fashionista Claire hiding from the paparazzi

2009-07-06T11:01:00.000-07:00

4th of July Fun

We spent the weekend of the 4th in Byron Center, Mi visiting my parents. We had lots of fun for the kids like playing at the park, going on many many many wagon rides and playing with Uncle Lances old toys (transformers, hot wheels and gi joe belts). The big "kids" also had fun with sitting around the fire, watching baseball and going for ice cream!

2009-07-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

Our little piece of sunshine...

Caroline is one happy baby! Here are several pics from this weekend. While she is going through some seperation anxiety she smiles pretty much 80% of the time, I think that's pretty good for a not even 6 month old.

2009-07-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

Uncle Lance

We got to spend the whole weekend with Uncle Lance this past weekend. It had been since Feb since the kids had seen him so I thought they might be excited. I asked Claire on the way to Michigan if she was excited to see Grandma and she said "yes!", I said are you excited to see Grandpa "Yes!" she answered, when I asked are you excited to see Uncle Lance she replied "Nope.".

Well by the time the weekend was over they couldn't get enough of him. Claire literally chased him around the house and sat on him.

2009-07-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when twins run wild...

2009-06-28T19:17:00.002-07:00

Feels like summer...

It's been H-O-T this past week. To cool off I've been putting the sprinkler on in the backyard for the kids. More than anything it just makes me thankful for air conditioning!

Claire is turning into a bonafide two year old. She's thrown some tantrums in the past but on Saturday at PBS in the park she threw the mother of all tantrums. It was no longer our turn to ride the train, Reagan was sad- Claire was mad! She threw herself on the cement (in 85 degree weather no less) and preceded to scream and kick. Quite embarassing for Mom considering this day draws a crowd of around 40,000 people. I would normally ignore her but I had to get her out of the way so I picked her up and carried her off while she screamed and kicked me. Where did this child come from, what did I do to deserve this???? Ugh. She is going to give Mommy grey hairs before you know it, of course I dye my hair so YOU will never know that.

Here is sweet lovable, cudable Claire

Here is a pic of Reagan eating strawberries from Locally Grown Gardens, it's just around the corner from our house and no, he could not wait for me to wash them.

Daddy and R & C on the train pre Claire meltdown.

2009-06-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday (because there are no need for captions on these...)

2009-06-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome

Welcome to our new "home" on the web. The "Wilmering Twins" blog just wasn't cutting it with a third child so it was time to move on. I will miss the old blog and I'm not getting rid of it but it's time to start fresh. Don't forget to change us on your "favorite's list" (We better be on there). I'll start posting here next week. In the mean time I need to fix that header...I want the letters to be pink, I hate html stuff.

2009-06-17T10:37:00.002-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-11T07:14:00.002-07:00

Yesterday...

It was a long day. We are so done with rain! The kids are getting used to being out and about everyday and it's been a slow week. We are looking forward to having reinforcements this weekend! AKA- Grandparents!

This is the new wagon we just got, it provided about ten minutes of fun...

Here is a pic from the end of the day, need I say more?

2009-06-11T07:12:00.002-07:00

Speech...

Here are some pictures of Reagan and Claire's speech therapy appointment this week. They absolutely love their speech therapist, Miss Allie! Reagan is getting to the point where he is pretty much caught up with his peers- too many words to count, three and four words phrases and you can understand almost all of it. Claire is getting close too but again, she doesn't have as good an attention span so it's hard to tell! I know she likes to talk, we just don't always understand it!

In speech Miss Allie works on getting them to repeat phrases, use sign language, work on building up the muscles in their mouths and much much more! In these pics they are playing with the Mr. Potato head board, Claire LOVES Mr. Tato!

2009-06-11T07:10:00.002-07:00

Getting Big!

Here is Caroline this past week...

Here is Caroline at 1 week...

See the difference?

2009-06-11T07:06:00.002-07:00

Yet Another Trip to the Children's Museum...

Maybe people are getting sick of all the posts of us at the CM but sorry, we're not. In fact everytime we go it's more fun, Reagan and Claire are understanding and interacting with all the exhibits and it's fun to watch! This particular trip we ended up having to split up, we could NOT get Reagan to leave the trains and Claire was done, she does not have his attention span or love of trains! Daddy took Claire upstairs while I stayed back with Reagan and Caroline.

2009-06-04T10:54:00.002-07:00

C is for Caroline...

Some pics I took of the littlest one while Reagan and Claire were napping.

2009-06-04T10:53:00.002-07:00

Hail Storm #2

While we were in Detroit on Saturday there was a hail storm in Indy, we missed it... So apparently we needed to have another one on Tuesday around 5 pm. Reagan and Claire thought it was pretty neat, they were watching from the sun room until I decided maybe standing in a room full of windows when balls of ice were barreling down from the sky wasn't the best idea. We were okay but several houses on the northside of town did have some damage. We just need to clean out the gutters now.

2009-06-04T10:51:00.002-07:00

Strawberry picking

We went strawberry picking with our multiples club today. It was fun but a little exhausting for me. Keeping track of two two year olds while having a 16 pound baby strapped to you can be like that. It was worth it though, they both really liked picking the berries and putting them in our box. Of course they didn't get out of there with out trying a couple first either. Reagan even liked trying the whole strawberry, leaves included...ew.

2009-06-03T19:41:00.002-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-21T09:47:00.002-07:00

And Action...

The kids played outside this morning, well Reagan and Claire played and Caroline soaked in a little vitamin d(only for a few minutes). We even did speech Therapy outside. The are both really catching up in speech. Reagan can ask for all kids favorite foods-strawberries, pancakes, grapes and Claire says "Mine" (I knew it was coming).

2009-05-21T09:46:00.002-07:00

2009-05-19T07:08:00.002-07:00

The weekend
Grandma and Grandpa Wil came into town this past weekend to help me out. I REALLY needed it. I think Reagan might be getting his two year molars, he is constantly putting his hand in his mouth which isn't like him and he is not in the greatest mood. Caroline is still working on a schedule and is kind of getting there but when she gets overtired, look out! Claire just loves Caillou, ugh... (Just be happy if you DON'T know who Caillou is)

Daddy gives Claire her first lesson

Reagan getting ready for the slide

Caroline staying warm in her bunny suit

2009-05-19T07:07:00.002-07:00

2009-05-11T11:44:00.002-07:00

2009-05-11T11:43:00.002-07:00

2009-05-11T11:40:00.002-07:00

2009-05-02T14:26:00.002-07:00

My favorite model...

Not because she is the cutest, although she is definitely top three, but because she holds still!

2009-05-02T14:25:00.002-07:00

"Owside Peese"

2009-04-30T11:01:00.002-07:00

These are a few of our favorite things

Food:
Claire-strawberries, clementines, the creme in the middle of a sandwich cookie
Reagan- Freeze driend strawberries, freeze dried pears, freeze dried apples
Caroline- Breastmilk, gas drops, breastmilk

Toys-
Claire-everything but only for 5 seconds at a time, purses and hats, books
Reagan-cars, trucks and balls(all boy), puzzles
Caroline-her hands, you should check them out, they are amazing!

Places-
Claire- anywhere with a playset, grandmas houses
Reagan-outside, outside, outside
Caroline-a lap or a shoulder

Not too much new going on here. We are very sick of rain! The kids are holding their own but I'm not sure I can take another day of it. Ugh. We have our first free weekend in several weeks coming up. It will be nice to not do anything.

Recent cute Caroline story- She was sleeping upstairs and I heard her suddenly start screaming, I ran up the stairs to check it out and she is just laying there pulling her own hair...she had just grabbed on but hadn't perfected the whole letting go thing yet. As soon as I opened her fist she calmed down and went back to sleep.

Still brainstorming ideas for the new blog name...maybe something to do with being overcrowded in our little bungalow? We'll see.

2009-04-27T07:17:00.002-07:00

BuBbLeS...

2009-04-22T12:38:00.002-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-15T18:47:00.002-07:00

2009-04-14T12:43:00.002-07:00

It's Potty Time

Well, we'll see. I don't expect much but I am going to start introducing the potty chair to Reagan and Claire, we just got these in the mail today so we wait to see what they think of them. Both of them continue to try and remove their diapers (we love duct tape!) and they both tell us when they are "yucky" and then they go lay down to be changed.

2009-04-14T12:41:00.002-07:00

3 Months

Caroline turned 3 months on SAturday. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She smiles and about a week ago laughed for the first time. She is such a sweetie. I took these pictures yesterday afternoon...

2009-04-13T09:58:00.002-07:00

Working on it...

I am aware that we need a new name for this blog, we need something to include Caroline! Let me know if you have any ideas!

Amanda

2009-04-13T09:50:00.002-07:00

Fashionista

2009-04-13T09:49:00.002-07:00

Easter Weekend

We had a fun weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Adams. Ryan and I were sad to see them go but at least we got a lot of help for a couple days. Reagan and Claire enjoyed telling them about Elmo and the color yellow, their two favorite words right now. Claire had her first jelly beans, she was a fan but decided to save them for later in her fist and they melted, yucky! Reagan found two matchbox cars during our Easter egg hunt Sunday and he thought they were the best thing ever, he quit looking for more eggs and sat right down in the grass to play with his new cars.

2009-03-28T12:34:00.002-07:00

2009-02-20T11:38:00.002-08:00

Caroline at 5 weeks!

Keep in mind they aren't the edited versions...

2009-02-20T11:21:00.002-08:00

2009-01-29T18:56:00.002-08:00

2009-01-29T18:55:00.002-08:00

2009-01-29T18:53:00.002-08:00

2009-01-29T18:52:00.002-08:00

2009-01-15T07:36:00.002-08:00

2009-01-13T18:53:00.002-08:00

Caroline Helen

Born January 11th at 3:56 am. After not even four hours of labor! My water broke just before midnight, surprising me to say the least! We arrived at the hospital around 12:30, I recieved an epidiural around 2 am and not long after that she was born. She was ready, it only took ten pushes.

We are home from the hospital now. Just resting and getting to know our new little girl. Reagan and Claire are in Michigan with G & G Wilmering until Friday.

Caroline

8 pounds 3 ounces
20.7 inches

2009-01-13T18:45:00.002-08:00

Caroline Helen

2009-01-13T18:44:00.002-08:00

2009-01-06T17:22:00.002-08:00

Happy New Year!

It's a little late but all the same. Below you will find lots of pictures from the last few weeks. We had Christmas with G & G Adams and Uncle Lance and then G & G Wilmering came down with Aunt Katie (in some awful weather I might add). We had fun unwrapping gifts and going places like the Children's museum and zoo!

The pregnancy is almost over. I'm 39 weeks tomorrow. The doctor said he wouldn't be surprised if I went sometime this week but I'm pretty sure that means I won't! I'm hoping I will be the baby comes when he/she wants I suppose.

2009-01-06T17:21:00.002-08:00

2009-01-06T17:19:00.002-08:00

2009-01-06T17:17:00.002-08:00

2009-01-06T17:16:00.002-08:00

2009-01-06T17:15:00.002-08:00

2009-01-06T17:13:00.002-08:00