Friday, July 31, 2009

Suburban Landscape

We finally got our house re-landscaped this week! Yeah!!
My brother-in-law, Jack Blong, and his friend , Troy Ostwinkle, run Suburban Landscape out of North Liberty, IA. They are supper busy this summer so I was very excited to find out that they would be able to come to do our landscaping. We had some stuff before but it was the regular Ole' builders special from some other company, needless to say it was nothing special. We also just had a fence put up (got to keep those kids in somehow!) so our back yard needed something special. So for Olivia's birthday uncle Jack came through and was able to squeeze us in. The guys on the crew did an excellent job and we are really happy with the results. I wish I had some before pictures!




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Fun With Rachel!

While our nanny was gone this week my niece, Rachel, stepped in to help out. We were even brave enough to go to the park one morning! She came here every day Monday through Thursday and her help was very much appreciated. Olivia absolutely loves "My Rachie!" and the babies love her too!

Olivia stuffing in Potato O'Lays with Rachel by her side.




Hayden giving Rachel a big grin!



Hannah thinks she is pretty funny too.


Jonathan thinks she is hilarious!

Got to love the fresh air!

Rachel and Olivia running from the splash pad to the slides!

Thanks Rachel! Your the BEST!

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Please Enjoy The Music While You Read

I've added a playlist to our blog tonight because I wanted to share this amazing song with everyone. The artists is Josh Wilson and the song is called Savior Please. I heard this song a few months ago while I was driving back aItalicnd forth to Iowa City every day with Hayden when Hannah and Jonathan were still in the hospital. It has since continued to pop up when I seem to need it the most. It reminds me that I'm not alone, and I just need to ask God to please take my hand. So I hope you enjoy it and maybe it might fit into your life like it fits into ours. And if not, you can always hit the mute button! :)

I also found the lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com if you are interested.

Savior, please take my hand
I work so hard, I live so fast
This life begins, and then it ends
And I do the best that I can, but I don't know how long I'll last

I try to be so tough
But I'm just not strong enough
I can't do this alone, God I need You to hold on to me
I try to be good enough
But I'm nothing without Your love
Savior, please keep saving me

Savior, please help me stand
I fall so hard, I fade so fast
Will You begin right where I end
And be the God of all I am because You're all that I have

I try to be so tough
But I'm just not strong enough
I can't do this alone, God I need You to hold on to me
I try to be good enough
But I'm nothing without Your love
Savior, please keep saving me

Hallelujah
Everything You are to me
Is everything I'll ever need
And I am learning to believe
That I don't have to prove a thing
'Cause You're the one who's saving me

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

First Food!

The babies had their first taste of rice cereal mixed with apple juice on Wednesday the 22nd. All-in-all they did really well. I was very surprised! We are starting them off slowly. Just once a day after our morning bottle for a couple weeks just to see how it goes and then who knows!

Above is Hayden in the purple Bumbo seat, then Jonathan in the blue, and Hannah in the pink about to try their first bites!

And of course Olivia needed to join the line up. But she got graham crackers instead. As you can see does a good job at getting the babies attention.

Such a Big Girl!

Hayden seems to like her first bite!

Hannah trying a bite.

Jonathan loves it of course!


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Liv Gets an Early B-Day Present

This weekend a very nice guy that Adam works with stopped by the house with his wife and kids to see if Olivia would like a Jeep. At first she just sat in it and pretended to drive. Then she found the pedal. And the rest is history! She is still a little small for it so her foot slides off the pedal a lot but that doesn't seem to bother her.
Olivia concentrating very hard!

Had to give Adam's old Alvin a ride. She even buckled him in!

The kids are really going to love this!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

What's that?...An Update!

Hard to believe, but the babies are already four months old and Olivia is about to turn TWO! As I'm sure you can imagine things are pretty crazy around our house these days, and my days of weekly blog updates are long, long gone! But as we start to get into more of routine things are getting easier, or maybe just more predictable, either way reality has long set in and we are still alive! But we honestly can't thank our family, friends, and nanny enough for all their help! I am pretty sure if it wasn't for them Adam and I would have checked ourselves into the nut house long ago!

So as the bottles are warming in the crock pot I'll give you update on what's been going on.

Olivia will turn two on August 2nd and I hate to say it but I am already starting to see a glimmer of those terrible two's. Do not get me wrong though...Liv is a smart, energetic, outgoing, beautiful little girl that loves everyone including her new brother and sisters. But I am starting to hear the words; mine, no touch, and stop quite a bit these days. This summer she has continued to go to Somersaults, that is little kid gymnastics, which she loves. She has so much fun jumping around, hanging from bars, doing somersaults, and singing the "bye-bye" song at the end of the 30 minutes. And I have to admit, I love taking her. Her vocabulary has really grown too and she soaks in every word you say. I've started trying to work with her on colors and shapes this last couple weeks, but it seems like everything is yellow, even shapes!

As for the babes, they just keep growing! They had their four month check up today and all did very well. Hannah is 11lbs 4oz and 23 inches long. Hayden is 11lbs 12oz and 23 3/4 inches long. And Jonathan is 14lbs 3oz and 25 inches long! The girls are still on the lower side of the scales but are on the charts! And Jonathan (Big Boy) you would never guess he was born 53 days premature! He is right on target for his height and weight.

From right to left you have Hannah, Olivia, Hayden, Owen, and Jonathan. On this night Liv's cousin Owen and Aunt Jocelyn came over to help with Olivia and the babies while Adam played baseball. The night went really good until Jonathan decided to projectile vomit all over myself, himself, and the the living room floor!

Here is a picture of the girls playing with my mom. I believe Hannah is on the right and Hayden is on the left, but don't hold me to it!

This is Hannah playing in the bouncy seat. She has figured out how to make it make noise and light up. As you can see by her eyes it still surprises her! Hannah, seems to be the laid back one of the three so far. She is the oldest, the smallest, and yet the one that is always surprising you.

Hayden is swinging in her swing. She tends to be a little more serious, but she gives up smiles pretty easily. She seems to be a little of both Hannah and Jonathan all wrapped into one. Such a sweetie!

Oh Big Boy! Jonathan seems to be the loud one of the group. (I think he is taking his ques from his big sis Olivia!) He was smiling first, cooing first, and giggling first. But you don't want to be around when he gets hungry or mad because he will let you have it!

All of them are smiling and giggling a bit. And they can sit in their bumbo seats and hold their heads up. They have also started to reach for toys and they love to try to fit their hands into their mouths. They all eat five times a day and are tentatively sleeping through the night. Down to bed around 10:30 pm and then they are up and having their first bottle of the day around 8:30 am. Usually one of the girls will get up first around 5:30 am but we have been able to get them back to bed until the rest wake up, so that has truly been a blessing.

So all in all, things are going very well. We definitely have our moments good and bad, but each day we survive makes the next day a little easier to get through.


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2 Weeks!