Bluebonnet Pictures...age 4

Well it seems that the way I can tell how much the boys are growing up is by how much easier bluebonnet pictures get every year. Sounds crazy, but when they were babies - 2ish was HORRIBLE! No one looking and everyone crying (including me)! Now you just tell them what to do and they do it...for the most part!

Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil....yeah right!

Now & Then

I was flipping through pictures on my computer the other day and it made me stop and think about how fast time has gone by. I cant believe how much they have grown up. It is nice sometimes to stop and think about this stuff because it is such a crazy life you really don't get much time to reflect until they are all grown up. Here are our past Christmas' starting with our first in the hospital.

Christmas 2007 - Our 1st Christmas

2008

2009

2010

2011

The Cowboy Stage

I was hoping we would not go through this phase, but little Lane thinks he is a cowboy! Not my taste, but as for both sets of grandparents, they are thrilled. Both sets of grandparents have cattle and horses and are really into the "cowboy" stuff. I don't mind as long as they keep the animals at their houses. As for us, I hope we don't ever get dragged into the "cattle/horse" mess. I told them that the boys can show and do whatever as long as they (the grandparents) take care of all of it. Being the only girl in the house (including all animals) I'm sure I will get out voted, but for now that is the way it is!
Lane in his cowboy getup. Thanks to Grammy & Poppy he got new boots, belt, belt buckle, hat, shirt, and guns w/holster. Right now he is the only one into the cowboy thing, and this is really the first time one of them has gone out on their own to like something that the other two don't follow or fight over. We'll see what happens.

Mommy Moments

This new year it was my goal to get rid the final "baby" stuff. I am finding this extremely hard and emotional. I have learned that I have to be ready before they can be ready. They are always ready, but I'm not. Holding on to the last little bit of when they were babies is making me so sad. So the last couple of things we have are the changing table (which we use for their clothes because it makes a great dresser), and sippy cups. Why my mom asked are we getting rid of sippy cups. Well, I am tired of finding them 2-3 months later under beds and furniture with crazy stuff growing in them because they just throw them wherever when they are done drinking them, and they need to learn to stay in the kitchen to drink . Not really the only reason why, really they 4 years old and can drink out of regular cups, but they use the sippy cups as their "comfort". It has been very emotional to get rid of the changing table the most - not really sure why, just a mommy moment. As far as sippy cups - I cant wait! I am so tired of taking them apart to wash and putting them back together - such a pain! Since we got rid of them January 1st, it has been a little messy as they are learning they have to stay in the kitchen to drink and not go all over the house since they don't have lids anymore. Frustrating, but they are learning.

Ice Skating & NICU

Last week we had a couple of new adventures. We went back to the hospital where the boys were born for a visit. It was the first time we were voluntarily back since they were born (4 years). It was great visiting with the NICU staff and nurse practitioners and for them to see how great the boys are doing now. They were all amazed at how well they are doing since they were so sick when they were babies. The boys really didn't know what to think, they just played with the fish tank and ran around. We explained to them what we were doing and who the nurses were, but they were more interested in the fish. But all in all it was a great visit.

After that we went to Discovery Green to go ice skating! It was an interesting and very fun afternoon outing! After ice skating we had hot chocolate and played on the playground for a while. Lots of fun and family time.. The boys LOVED it. I was surprised that they did, I totally expected them to whine and cry when they fell and got wet, but they didn't they were having so much fun. It would have been a great submission to America's Funnies Home Videos! It was also Ryan's first time to ice skate. He did very well and did not fall, of course we all were wall huggers, but for the experience it was great family fun!

Wyatt skating alone.

Wyatt & Ryan "wall hugging"

Reid & Ryan

They also have a smaller ice rink for little kids 4 and under where they spent most of their time. They could hold on tho the sides and scoot around without the worry of the big kids knocking them down.

And of course they were very interested in the "ice lawnmower" machine

Happy 4th Birthday

Our 4th birthday was so much fun. We had a circus theme and lots of candy. It is hard to believe they are 4 now - they grow up fast (most of the time).

Wyatt hitting the pinata, Reid in the middle, & Lane standing with the orange bag.

Little Lane is growing up.

The Siemsglusz family of triplets also joined us for our birthday!

The train that we rented for the day was a big hit and really nice. Everyone got to ride, even adults!

Happy Halloween

As always oh so much fun finding costumes for the boys. I was thinking this may be the last year that I have any say in what they dress up as, so I dressed them up as the Wizard of Oz - Scarecrow (Lane), Tin Man (Reid), and the Lion (Wyatt). It was so much fun and they were so funny running around in them, you would have thought they just ate a whole bag of candy because they were so excited. Anyway, we had the Grace Lutheran Fall festival last Friday and they won Best Overall Costume!