Day at the museum

Last weekend my Mom and I took the boys out to lunch and to The Children's Museum. It was their first time going to the museum and they loved it. We now have a pass so we can go back whenever we want. We are actually going to head down there tomorrow and then meet Brian for lunch. Michael and Logan especially liked the Lego exhibit, the trains, and the dinosaurs. Aiden was just happy to be riding along in the stroller. It was a really fun day for them and they all slept the whole way home:):):)

Day at the zoo!

This morning when the boys woke up I surprised them with the news that we were going to the zoo. They were so excited to go see all the animals. We met some friends and all the kids had a lot of fun. We saw a lot of the animals, rode the train, and ended the day with a late lunch out at our favorite place. Michael and Logan talked about the zoo the whole way home in the car and asked if we could go back tomorrow:)

Pirate Party!

I can't believe Michael and Logan will be three years old tomorrow! Over the weekend we celebrated their birthday with family and friends. Michael and Logan were very excited about their party this year. They helped me decorate and couldn't wait to wear their pirate costumes. It was a really neat party and most of the other kids dressed up too. I think one of their favorite things this year was blowing out the candles on the cake after everyone sang Happy Birthday to them. They had a lot of fun and are still talking about the party today!


Mommy had a lot of fun making sails for the pirate ships!


Logan
Michael




Michael
Logan

I love my boys!

I was finally able to get a picture of all three boys together! (It is not easy to get them to sit together.) They are growing up so fast! Michael and Logan will be three in March and Aiden is now 14 months. Michael and Logan are very into playing pretend. They can make up some crazy stories between the two of them. They also love to help me do everything. They even like to help me with Aiden, although they still put him in time out for not sharing. Aiden is so close to walking. He walks very well holding onto our hands and can even stand on his own. He has taken a few steps by himself but once he realizes what he is doing he drops down to the floor to crawl. He has also started talking more. This week he started saying hi, no-no, dog, and go. It's so cute to walk into his room to get him up from a nap and hear him say HI! I love the age that all three boys are at right now. It's so much fun to watch them play together:)

Valentine's Weekend

Michael and Logan were so excited about Valentine's Day this year! Last week they helped me hang up hearts all over the house and we colored Valentines for all their friends at school....10 kids per class....2 days a week....times 2 kids....equals 40 Valentines!!! We did A LOT of coloring!

Then Saturday morning I made them heart shaped pancakes and they each got their own little box of candy. Brian got me some beautiful roses which you can see on the kitchen table. Saturday night my mom and dad babysat so Brian and I could go out to a quiet dinner with some friends. (Five years ago the restaurant that Brian and I had made dinner reservations at called the day before Valentine's Day to tell us they had closed. Our friends invited us to go along with them since it is impossible to get reservations anywhere the day before Valentine's Day. We had so much fun we have gone out together every year since then!)

Sunday night Michael and Logan helped me make our entire dinner from start to finish! We made chicken rosalie, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and homemade bread (all dairy free of course). They got to pound the chicken flat and mix the seasonings to coat the chicken with. Then they got to help me make the mashed potatoes in the mixer. They had so much fun sitting on the counter helping me cook. It was a great weekend!

Let's dance!

The other day I had some music on while I was cleaning the house. I usually play music while cleaning up or cooking so Michael and Logan are always dancing in the kitchen but I had yet to catch them on tape. Luckily this time I had the video camera close by so I was able to catch them while they were still dancing. Little did I know that Aiden was rocking out too! Be sure to look at the bottom left corner while watching the video to see his moves! He starts dancing around 26 seconds into the video. Sorry for the shaky camera at the end...I guess I shouldn't dance and hold the camera at the same time:)

Playing in the snow

We have had a lot of snow lately but it has been so cold! Sunday we finally had some warmer weather so it was a nice day to play outside. The boys loved their first time playing in the snow! Grandpa helped the boys build their first snowman and Daddy took them for rides on the sled.

Aiden on the go!

Aiden is so close to walking! He just needs to get brave enough to let go and walk on his own.

A new toy!

We have been waiting for Aiden to hit the 20 pound mark so that he could switch to his new carseat and face forwards. Last Friday he weighed in at 20 pounds 9 ounces so over the weekend Brian replaced his infant seat with the new one. While Brian was in the garage switching out carseats Michael and Logan discovered their new toy. Who knew an empty box could be so much fun? They pretended it was a train and played with the box for the next couple days before Mommy finally had to take it out to the trash.

Life without milk...

Aiden has been drinking soymilk for a few weeks now and he is loving it! He drinks just as much as his big brothers do so we are going through about 4 gallons a week. We still keep all the dairy out of the house because Aiden's allergy is so severe and the boys don't understand that they can't share their food with Aiden. Since last May we have been doing all our cooking without dairy so I am always on the look out for new recipes. Monday night at my twins club meeting a mom (also with a child allergic to milk) gave me a ton of new recipes to try out. Yesterday when we were snowed in I decided to give one of them a try at breakfast.


This is called puff baby. It is eggs, flour, dairy free margarine, and soymilk. You sprinkle the finished product with powdered sugar (which the boys thought was snow...which was funny since we had about 12 inches of snow outside). Anyway as you can see by the picture it was a huge hit and I will be making it for them again.

Running buddy

Last Friday we had a 40 degree day here and after temps being in the teens it almost felt like spring. So while Michael and Logan were at school, I decided to pack Aiden up and take him for a quick run. Aiden has not gone for many runs with me since I usually go before all the kids wake up. When Michael and Logan were babies I took them with me all the time. Aiden was not very happy about all the layers I dressed him in to keep him warm but loved every minute of the run once we got going.

Preschool Madness!

Brian and I love the church we attend and they are well known for their preschool program. I have known people who have tried to get their kids in the program in past years and they have ended up being number 45 on the waiting list. This time last year I was not ready to send my babies off to a Mom's Day Out yet. I wanted them to be home with me. Well, as soon as the terrible twos hit I was calling all over town trying to get them in somewhere:) They ended up at a church near our home that has a good program but I really wanted them to attend our church's program. So last week was registration....this is where the madness begins. I had heard from other moms whose children were already in the program that parents arrive at the church the night before to start waiting in line for registration which opens at 8am. One mom in the boys music class said she arrived at 3am last year and was second in line due to a dad arriving at midnight. I spoke to the lady in charge of the program the morning before registration and she said it would be incredibly difficult to get twins into the same class. She thought they could end up going on different days. She still needed to go over her list of open spots (once you are in all your children are guaranteed a spot in the years to come) but it looked like she only had 2 spots open for the same class which meant that we would have to be the first family in line. Once Brian heard this he packed up the minivan for an overnight in the parking lot of the church. I won't tell you what crazy hour he arrived but let's just say he had time to watch 2 movies on the IPOD, do some work, and listen to several talk radio shows. I arrived at 4:30am to relieve him and send him home for some sleep before he had to head into work but after sitting there all night he really wanted to be the one to finish the process. People were courteous to wait in their cars til about 5:30am when the line started outside. Luckily it was 27 degrees out that night so not as cold as it has been this winter. The church doors opened at 6am and we were allowed to wait inside for the remainder of the time. At 8am we turned in our paperwork and crossed our fingers that the overnight in the parking lot would pay off. At 9:45am the preschool coordinator called to tell me that Michael and Logan had both gotten into the Wednesday/Friday class! Brian and I were ecstatic! This is where they will attend school for the next two years and Aiden will join them when he turns two. Isn't is amazing the things you will do for your children? A HUGE THANK YOU to Brian for being willing to be the first dad in line! I love you sweetie!

Sick boys and a sippy cup

All three boys (plus Mommy and Daddy) have gone from having the stomach flu to a very nasty cold! This latest cold has hit Michael and Logan especially hard and they have ended up on nebulizer treatments to help with their breathing. Even with the treatments they are still up all hours of the night coughing. Luckily they actually like taking the treatments and pretend to give them to each other. They say to each other...."Let's go play medicine!" So far Aiden has been toughing it out without taking any medicine. He does not seem to be quite as sick as Michael and Logan. Over the past couple weeks we have been trying a lot of new foods with Aiden and he has now moved on to sippy cups! He is doing great with soy milk and is starting to eat some of the same meals as Michael and Logan. His new favorite food is waffles made with soy milk. Each week we try something new with him and so far he has loved everything we have given him.