Hannah's Visit

Hannah flew back from New York with us and spent two weeks here in Texas without mom and dad. It was a big step and a long time away from them for her but she did great! We had lots of fun while she was here and the girls loved having her around all the time. And so did I for that matter. She was an awesome help with all of the kids. She helped get them ready, always buckled them in the car, watched Colt when I needed her to, helped clean the play room, helped get the girls swimming more, helped the girls use the bathroom, and I could go on and on. We were really busy while she was here and also got the girls registered for preschool and met their teacher. Mom and dad came to pick her up and were here just for the last week end. We hope you had a great visit Hannah! And hope you come back soon!

We did more swimming these two weeks than we probably did the rest of the summer combine! But it paid off because the girls are swimming much better now.

These two love the water.

Mr. Potato head earrings on.

Painting ceramics. The girls had a lot of fun doing this and eating the popcorn they give you. Hannah picked a dolphin, Livy picked a Hello Kitty box, and Rachel picked an elephant.

Rachel wanted to wear Hannah's flip flops everywhere, even though they were falling of her feet. Silly kid! She wanted to be like Hannie the whole time. They would play baby too and Hannah was always Rachel's mom.

Choo-choo! Here is their train. They tied bikes and wagons together. It took a few tries but got it going finally.

Little buddy enjoying some food. He loves to eat everything now. He still only has two bottom teeth but that doesn't seem to stop him. We think he said Hannah. A few times he would look right at her and say what sounded like Hannah. He did it in NY the last two days too and other thought it sounded like it too, I'm not just crazy.

Silly time at the table for all three girls.

Colt loves dogs and gets so excited seeing them. He loves rubbing his feet on Pebbles too when she comes around his chair looking for dropped food.

The girls massaging Eric's back for money. Well Hannah anyway, I don't know exactly what the girls are doing.

A fun night at ITZ. The food was beyond gross but it was fun playing the games with the girls.

Eric and Hannah on the bumper cars. He really enjoyed having an older kid around that he could play with and do different stuff with.

The gang.

Sliding on an inflatable slide. We went to an indoor bounce house place and they had lots of fun. We were pretty much the only ones there since school had started here and they had so much fun. There was one little boy that they ran around with that Rachel of course came to love. She said she is gonna marry him now, not Charlie anymore.

Visiting the zoo. On the way to the airport to get mom and dad we spent the morning at the zoo. The girls had lots of fun seeing all the animals. Here they are in a little tunnel that goes through a fish tank. It was pretty cool. They loved the giraffes, elephants, and orangutan too. Lots of the other animals were sleeping so they were hard to see.

And brushing the goats is always fun for the kids.

Livy was rubbing this ones chin saying "What's wrong, what's the matter."

I probably shouldn't have let him get this close to the goats mouth now that I think about it but he was just so excited to see them. I think he thought they were dogs. If I didn't have him down on the ground to see them he was screaming and throwing himself around.

We took a trip to the lake the one of the weekends Hannah was here too. A little fishing, jet skiing, boating, and water sliding.

Livy and Rae enjoying the jet skis, very slowly.

Tucking a tired Pebbles in.

Some pictures borrowed from Jamie's blog. Thanks!

Mom and dad came to pick Hannah up the last weekend she was here. We did lots of swimming and I got to go shopping by myself. We had their favorite Texas foods: BBQ potatoes, Chic-fil-A, and Papasitos.

Colt enjoying NY bagels.

Lots of tea parties too!

We miss you guys. We always do. Thanks for coming to stay with us Hannah and for all of your help. Rachel was crying the morning they left. She says she has no one to play with now that Hannah is gone. I had to remind her of her sister who she said doesn't want to play with her. She also told me to call them and they will come right back. I have a feeling it is going to start getting harder to say goodbye to them now that the girls realize more that they are not around all the time when they want them to be. It is so sad watching them get upset about it. I can't keep it together either when they start crying because I miss them too. We are doing better now though and looking forward to the next trip.

Adelyn

Just call me the late blogger. Don't worry I am aware of how late I am on everything and I am coming to accept that is just how it is. But I still wanted to put some pictures and announce baby Adelyn.

Adelyn Williams

5 lbs. 7 oz.

16.5 inches

8/16/10

After two weeks in the hospital Jenina delivered Adelyn by c-section on 8/16. Poor Jenina did have to go through bad contractions while waiting for an operating room to open up. Adelyn shares a birthday with her Aunt Tisha! How cool! She is a miracle baby and at 34.5 weeks came out doing awesome. She didn't need any assistance at all in the hospital but stayed in the NICU for a few days just to keep an eye on her feeding, breathing, and temperature. Glad to say she came home with Jenina a few days later and they are doing good. So happy she is here and safe and they are home. The power of prayer is amazing. Congrats guys!

Ten on Tuesday

I am copying Jamie's idea of Ten on Tuesday. I think you are supposed to write about the things going on in your life or even just in your head that past week. I am hoping to get some stuff written down once a week at least since I have been getting worse and worse at blogging. So here we go....

1. Colt is sleeping through the night!!! That probably deserves its own post but here it is. I have wanted to just let him cry it out for a while but we were always at the lake or going to NY where I would have to undo all my work of letting him cry because we sleep in the same room with him when we travel. So when we got home from NY I used a new monitor that night, the same kind I have in Rachel's room. I had it on the wrong setting and listened to Rachel's quiet room all night. I thought he was just so tired that he slept but I guess I will never know how much he screamed that night. I felt terrible the next afternoon when I discovered my mix up, but like Eric said he's fine now. So that got us going. The past two weeks have been great finally not getting up to feed him. He has cried a few times but I let him cry and it only lasts a few minutes and then he is back to sleep. I am so happy!!!
2. Hannah was here with us for the past two weeks and we miss her already. She was such a great help with the girls and with Colt. They all love her to pieces and are so sad she is gone. It really is so nice having an older kid in the house. She was so helpful and made my load a bit lighter. Thanks Hannah!
3. One day last week I felt like my old self. I had energy, we were productive, we were out and about, and it didn't seem quite as hard as it had been feeling. I am sure there are many things that all added up to finally give me one day that I felt like that and I enjoyed that day. Too bad it was only one day. I am sure sleep had a lot to do with it. I think that night before was the first time in over a year that I have slept all night without waking up from a child needing me. Maybe soon again, when I can get all these kids to sleep through the night!
4. Rachel and Livy can whistle, or their own version anyway. They saw my dad put his fingers in his mouth and whistle in NY and now they do it all the time. It is hysterical though. They put their finger of choice (Rachel is thumb and Livy is pointer) up to the lips and then make a high pitched squeal in the tone of a whistle.
5. Colt can crawl a little. He is just getting into moving. He can crawl a few feet at a time but eventually gets where he wants to go. It is so cute and I love watching him try and get so excited to get there.
6. Rachel found out what the word allergic means. Now she has used it twice already today when she doesn't want something. When she wanted Colt to go away she told me "You know I am allergic to babies mom."
7. I really hate living so far from my parents and siblings. I wish we could live near them and Eric's family and my family. They are all awesome and it just stinks sometimes not being close to them or not being able to run over to show them something. But I am grateful that we can travel when ever we want. They are healthy and able to come visit and now that I can fly by myself with all the kids it's even better. I just miss the day to day involvement that I know would be different if we lived closer.
8. The girls start preschool tomorrow!! I just decided this a few days ago and luckily there were still spots available for them. They will go two days a week for 4 hours. I'm excited and nervous. I hope they love it. They have loved getting backpacks and new shoes and clothes. They enjoyed the meet the teacher day and their classroom. I think Livy will be less nervous tomorrow morning than Rachel or I. I can't believe they are old enough to go to school. They were just born, right? I'm gonna miss them but I hope it helps me be a better mom. I get frustrated a lot because there are just things I need to do around the house and I can never get anything done when they always need something or want me to be with them. So hopefully I can get most of what I need to do done while they are at school and devote more attention to them when they are home, making us all happier. That is the plan, we'll see how it goes!
9. I am ashamed at how bad of a dog owner I am, or we are I should say. Poor Pebbles had a hair band around her neck for who knows how long. She never whined, barked, got cranky or anything as it dug into her neck. She just kept playing with the kids and doing what she always does. The girls always put hair bands around the necks of their stuffed animal dogs to use as collars. So I guess one of them or both of them together decided to put one on Pebbles neck too. I don't know when it happened but it was there long enough to cut her neck right open. the slice is about a 1/2" deep on the top of her neck behind her head. I saw the blood all goopy in her hair and thought that one of them got ketchup on her, when I went to wipe it off I saw the huge gash. How did I not see it? I obviously don't pet her enough. I feel absolutely horrible. I know she is definitely a pain sometimes and some days I am thinking why do we have a dog but right now I just feel so terrible. I hope she can forgive us. She already seems like she has. She's happy, wagging her tail, and wanting to play. Amazing little spirits they have those doggies.
10. Stuffed animals still rule the house. The girls both play with them all the time but especially Livy. It is not just dogs now but dogs and cats and one cow and everyday they are doing something different. Riding a carousel, a plane, train, eating, climbing, at the doctors, etc. Livy loves those stuffed animals and every time we see my parents the pile grows. I think Rachel doesn't really love them that much, she just plays with hers because Livy is doing it.
11. They girls are doing great swimming. Definitely at different levels but improving in their own way. Rachel will now swim around the pool by herself with her wings on and put her face in. This is a huge step for her. She was so scared to swim without holding on to Eric or I even with her wings on and now she will. Livy is an intense swimmer, just like everything else she does. Very focused and eager. She swims without her wings under water out to some one and back to the steps. She loves wearing her goggles and will jump in off the side with or without her wings on and go under and come up. She is learning now how to come up for breaths and keep going. I am so proud of both of you girls for all that you have accomplished in the pool!  It so fun watching you learn and progress.
12. I love my family. I missed Eric while he was gone at the lake this weekend. I had my parents here so I was kept great company but I still missed him. I love him for who he is, for loving me no matter what (even if I never cook), and for this life we have together. I am amazed by Olivia and Rachel each day. I am so happy to be their mom and get to experience every day with them. I can't believe how fast they are growing up and the mixed emotions I get from that. I am happy to see them achieve more but sad that they are getting bigger. They test my patience and some times drive me crazy but they are funny and sweet and there is nothing better than their hugs and them telling me they love me. They know how to melt my heart in an instant. And Colt is a dream. He is so happy and such a good boy. I don't want him to get any bigger. I love this age. He is my constant companion and I don't mind at all. I love this little boy like I didn't even know I had in me. He just brings an instant smile to my face. 

OK so my first attempt will be called Twelve on Tuesday instead of Ten. I had a lot to say this week!