Progress. Progress. 4YO Update.

I wanted to be there fully, completely for each one.  

I wanted to be able to hold them until they stopped crying.

I wanted to listen to them with undivided attention.  To hear what they had to say without any distractions or input from others wanting my attention.

I wanted to make sure I knew what their favorite book was.

I wanted to make sure they weren't worried about something that they never had a chance to bring up.

I wanted them to feel like they were an only child... if only for a few hours.

So I did....

I took each one to their four year old check up individually and had a lunch date afterwards.  It sucked up a whole week for me and I got nothing else done, but I loved every minute of it.

BRIELLEN JEANNETTE

29 lbs - 6%

38" - 16%

Out of the five, she is the only one to get a not so glowing review... because she hasn't gained weight since December.  The doctor thinks that it's because she was sick so much and that by getting the ear tubes, she will start eating more and gain weight.  I'm not so sure... this girl is STUBBORN!  It is like an act of congress to get her to even try a bite of anything new.  Plus, she has stopped eating peanut butter, so I am SO worried that she will not gain the weight she needs to when we go back to the dr. next month. 

Nothing makes you question your parenting ability than a child who is not growing like they should... ugh!  ANY advice on how to feed a picky child is greatly appreciated!  I think I've tried everything, but maybe the wise moms reading this will tell me something I've missed!

When I asked Brie where she wanted to go eat, she said Mexican.  So we tried a new place called Alicia's in Cypress... Awesome food!  

Even though she asked for Mexican, she would only eat queso...

I wish... I could get this girl to eat more food!!

IVY ELIZABETH

36 lbs - 60%

40.5" - 68%

My big girl.... Just like her mama, she likes to eat!  Seriously a snacky girl.  She would eat all day long if I would let her.  We are still on a strict-ish eating schedule, so I don't spend all day in the kitchen, but this girl will ask for something to eat in between all meal and snack times.  NOW I know why mom's let their little ones chew gum!  

Bookstore to get new books... (After this trip, I made getting a library card a priority.)  Am grateful that my kids like to read, but sheesh, $15 for a book!?!)

She wanted chicken strips french fries and lemonade, so we went to Willie's Icehouse.  (It's funny, they ALWAYS think they want lemonade, but HATE it when they drink it.)

LUKE HARRISON

34.5 lbs - 33%

39.5" - 16%

Still my serious one, but has a silly side that I find SO endearing.  

He chose Mexican food... To mix it up I took him to Gringos (love!)  He's my tortilla guy and will eat a million!  Gringo's has self serve ice cream and he was in chocolate heaven!  
Hi. My name is Luke. And I am a chocoholic.  He tells me a story involving chocolate everyday.  (He is borderline robot-oholic as well.)

Green is still his favorite color.  If you ever wondered how powerful a parents influence is on a child, this is an example... His color was green when he was a baby, so everything he has has been green.  Even after giving him plenty of opportunities to change colors as he gets older, he still chooses green.  Four out of the five are this way.  

MITCHELL THOMAS

35 lbs - 38%

40.5" - 56%

Silly, silly boy. Constantly making jokes and laughing his big belly laugh!

(No makeup for me this day... rough night the night before.  Not a rough night as in having a good time, but rough night as in being woken up a million times in the night for not very important reasons... Someone had the nerve to wake me up in the middle of the night to ask me to get them a book!!! Excuse me, but I. don't. think. so.)

Once Luke let it out of the bag that Gringo's had ice cream, there was no other option of where to have lunch, no matter how much I tried to convince him otherwise.


Mitchell makes up for any picky eaters that I may have.  He can EAT!  For the amount of food he eats, he should be huge!  

SIDNEY ALUN

28.5 lbs - 4%

37.5" - 10%

Our sunshine girl.  Always happy. Always wakes up with a smile.  Always eager to please.

Even though she weighs less than Brie, she is steadily gaining weight.  She eats EVERYTHING, but like a bird. 

And here we are back at Gringo's....  

Ice cream!

I was amazed at how SHY each of them were at the doctors office.  They had to do small tests to make sure they were developmentally on track.  Like "stand up, clap your hands, then sit down"... to make sure they could follow directions. Not ONE of them would do it!  So bashful.  I just begged the doctor to take my word for it!!  I can't help but think this is because they are always together as a group.  Once again, I ponder the dynamics of being a quintuplet and how it will affect their personality.  

It is so easy to get caught up in worry about their development, their future... Am I doing things right? Am I doing things wrong? Am I going to screw them up because I didn't do this or I did do that?  Do I have the right parenting style? Am I too strict? Too laid back?  AHHHH! 

I then have to just take a deep breath and remember that I am not in charge... These are God's children and they will turn out perfectly the way He wants them to either because of or in spite of what I do!

-P.S. Uncle Neal... YES they desperately needed a haircut and YES I have since taken them.  :)  

San Diego Bach Party!

I've told you about one of my oldest, dearest friends, Brie... Well after a spicy dating life that was fit for the Hollywood Silver Screen, she finally picked her Mr. Right!  So, more for an excuse for girl time than celebrating her last days of being single, we blew the hot Houston summer and spent a weekend in beautiful San Diego... (La Jolla to be exact which is one of the cutest little towns I've ever been in!)  Couldn't have asked for a better time with my bestest friends!! 

And yes, I said summer... as in July...  Only 4 months behind... oh, well...

Day 1 - Wine Tasting in Temecula

I didn't even know there was a wine region in Southern Cali, but alas, there is... Not as fab as Napa/Sonoma, but it was really cute.

Kimber, ME, Misty, Amy, Cassy, Brie

Sisters!

Limo Ride

Winery #1 - Longshadow Ranch

It was a titch country....

Winery #2 - Wilson Creek Winery

Kimber and Aim

Special Girl....

That night we went to dinner at George's Ocean Terrace and it was AWESOME!  The view was incredible and food fantastic.  They even brought us soft blankies when the sun set and it got cold!  You HAVE to go here if you are ever in La Jolla!

Brie, Kimber, Misty, Cassy

Amy, Elle

It was cloudy, but still an amazing sunset!

Day 2 - Shopping and Brunch

This is the day that I learned about the ultra cute, uber expensive exercise clothes brand Lulu Lemon.   Apparently, I was the last one in Houston to know about it... I see it everywhere now and one day I will be able to buy a sock from there!  

Kimber, Elle, Amy

Bloody's!

We had big plans to go to the beach, but these old girls needed to prepare for the big night ahead.  Seriously, between all of us some needed naps, others needed red bull and there was a stop to the pharmacy for tums.  I am not going to name names, but suffice it to say, we are not as young as we once were!  

On one of my kid's music CD's, there is a song called "The Old Gray Mare"... Have you heard it?!?  The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be, many long years ago.  This is us... sad, but true!  :)

From Above Pic 

We got tired of the long line of girl pics....

Dinner in downtown San Diego at cute restaurant called Analog.

Made it to the club...

Blondies

We spent the whole night laughing...

And dancing....

Enjoying being with each other...

And being silly...

I love these girls beyond imagine and to spend an entire weekend with them was amazing....

As Ron Burgundy would say.. You stay classy, San Diego!

P.S.  Thank you, sweet Stephen, for taking care of our wonderfully crazy children, so I could take a much needed break!

Summer Bucket List Update

CAMPING: Check.

If you had told me 10 years ago, that I would go camping more than once, I would have called you a liar...  I guess having kids really does change you!  Our first time camping was such a great experience, we decided to try it again.  (Huntsville State Park this time.)

We only had a few unpleasant moments the entire weekend... Brie melting down for 3 hours at 1AM... sweltering heat in the day meaning no napping... powerful evening grumpy moments that follow no napping.  But other than than, there was nothing but great company, great food and fun!!  (Now I say fun, but please don't confuse this fun with on-the-beach-in-the Caribbean-with-no-kids fun. hee-hee.)

Setting Up

Luke, Brie, Sidney, Ivy, Mitchell

They LOVE sleeping in the tent...

Luke and Brie

First time using bags from MaMa Jude and PaPa Steve...

Ivy, Sidney and Mitchell

Uncle Damon's canoe is always a hit.

(We did eventually have to put the oars away... you can imagine why!)

Aunt Mimi and Uncle D giving canoe rides

Ivy and Mitchell

 First time fishing! (Thanks Nain and Papa for fishing rods!)

S'more time!

Luke, Mitchell, Brie, Stephen, Ivy, Sidney

Notice Damon's parent's (Moppy and PawPaw) RV in the background.... I honestly don't think camping would be the same without them there!  Having easy access to a coffee pot and microwave is huge... Not to mention the expertise of seasoned campers!!

LAKE TRAVIS (AUSTIN): Check.

This was our 4th annual trip to my girlfriends lake house and it never fails to be a blast!  Besides having some relaxing downtime with our family, I get to spend time with my GIRLS... (These girls are my forever friends!  The ones that have been through everything thing with you.... I mean EVERYTHING!)  And spend time with their fun hubbies and ADORABLE munchkins!

Family Pic

These kids did NOT want to stop playing to take a picture.  Argh!

Our favorite travel companions, The Farley's! Poor Amy and Damon... Stephen and I always benefit from them being there because it evens the kid:parent ratio... not in their favor!

Damon, Aiden, Amy, Brynne

There is nothing better than being in the presence of true friends! Catching up, unloading, sharing advice, trading beauty secrets, LOTS of laughing.  Not to mention SO much help with the kids!

Misty, Kimber, ME, Amy

"What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies." - Aristotle




{Did you notice I didn't use the word "babies" in this entire post??}

Ear Tubes In And Adenoids Out

Brie has always been borderline needing tubes...  When she first starting talking, her vocabulary was considerably smaller than her siblings, while completely in the normal range.  As she talked more and more, it always seemed a little less clear than everyone else, though completely understandable.  She had numerous ear infections, but nothing alarming.  After several trips to the ENT over the years and passing hearing tests, it was pretty much left up to us if we wanted to do tubes.  Her ear infections were regular but nothing like she had in March, April and May.  We were in the doctors office like clock work clearing up infections...  Finally I was like, ENOUGH already!!  

So off we went bright and early to the surgical center... I debated going to the surgical center vs. Texas Childrens, but they said at the hospital they schedule procedures by age, so the babies go first and the older children last.  It could have been afternoon before Brie's turn.  This girl can not last all day without eating and the surgical center schedules all procedures early in the morning, so the decision was pretty easy to make in the end.

The surgical center was like a chichi hotel... loved it! Brie had no clue what to expect, so she was lapping up alone time with her mommy and daddy!

Waiting to go back...

It was FREEZING!  They ended up bring ME a blanket!

They let Brie hang out in a wagon coloring, while I talked to the Dr.

She wanted to ride back on the bed until it was really time to go... I think she sensed the tension when all of the nurses and doctors came then she wanted me to hold her.  The sweet nurse asked if she could carry Briellen back and Brie actual went with her!  As they took her back, I started sobbing.  Watching my baby leave me was terrifying.  

As I waited praying and worrying, all I could think about were the mommy's whose babies have cancer or something else seriously wrong... How do they handle it?  It must be torture for them!  It made me extremely thankful that this is the worst that we've had to go through since we've left the NICU.  

Stephen -- ALWAYS working

I set my timer and exactly 21 minutes later they came and got us.  She did beautifully.  They ended up taking out her adenoids because they were swollen and she was having issues with runny noses and snoring at night.

Before she woke up...

When she woke up from the anesthesia, it was like she was possessed...  Screaming and writhing!! The nurse and the anesthesiologist were just calmly talking to her and doing their thing, but I was freaking out... Trying to be calm for her sake, but asking, Is this normal?!? Is she okay?!? What should I do?!? Her feet are in the air and the IV is twisting!?! How long will this last?!? What do I do?!?  They gave her a sedative and she woke up again 15 minutes later G.R.U.M.P.Y.  But at least calm! 

Grumpy Face

The first thing she asked for when she woke up was a cup of coffee!!  If you know Brie, this is HYSTERICAL!  This girl only drinks milk and water and only has 5 things of food that she will eat at any given month.  NO sweets, NO juice, NO junk food, Nothing a typical 4 year old would die to eat.  SO the fact that she asked for the most bitter thing she could have asked for is hilarious.  I thought she was still a little crazy, so we laughed and just blew off her request. Well, she would not be put off and was adamant about her cup of coffee.  So Stephen went and got her a cup of coffee... She took a sip and was happy as can be.

Coffee, Please!

Finally, Snuggles with Momma!

Recovery was surprisingly easy!  I could tell when all of the anesthesia was out of her system and she said her ears hurt. I gave her tylenol before bed and she was normal the next day.  Maybe a little droopy, but nothing like the veg-on-the-couch-all-day child I was expecting.  This was on a Wednesday and we were at the beach on Saturday!  (I've heard that having the tonsils out at the same time is a much bigger deal, so we are lucky not to have had to do those too!)

If anyone needs an ENT in the Houston area, I loved Dr. James Albright and would highly recommend him!!!