More pictures....

Here are some of the last of the vacation/birthday pictures! Carter is looking forward to his "Jump Zone" party on Saturday with his friends from school, and our close friends. We are having about 24 kids, so it should be fun!!! The girls are looking forward to it as well!

Cooper's birthday is now the next one on the calendar, she will be 2 on April 17th! Not too much planned for her, we don't really do much when they are little, just a family party...besides, I am not sure how much more I can take of the "birthday" tour we have every month starting in January with the twins! For sure though, Cooper will have her Elmo cake, and her siblings really are enough kids to constitute a "party!"

Happy Birthday Carter!!!

I just wanted to wish our first born, little "baby" a very Happy 5th Birthday!!!!!!

Boy, time sure does fly, between the time we brought that little (hardly tiny at 8 pounds 4 ounces) bundle of joy home.  I'd like to say he was a great baby, but, he wasn't, but it didn't matter.  He was FAR cuter than I ever imagined.  And now, I am the proud mother of a very BIG, blonde, well-mannered, boy.  He loves life, his sisters, and is very sweet.  Of course, not perfect, but if his biggest flaw is that he's TOO emotional, I'll take that all day long!!

Happy Birthday Carter!! :)

More Fun!!!

Fripp Island!

The stomach flu, UGH!

Yes, for the THIRD year in a row, we fell victim to a nasty stomach bug.  It started with Annabelle feeling slightly under the weather, and vomiting once.  It didn't seem like that big of a deal, and she missed a day at school. Well, that afternoon when Carter and Olivia were home, chaos ensued!  It started with Carter, and by the evening and into the wee hours of the morning, Cooper and Olivia had it!!  Needless to say, we were up ALL night, and there was laundry, carpeting cleaning, and vomit "bowls" involved, not pretty.

They all rebounded quickly, and were fine by late Friday.  So, we thought we had endure the worst, until Saturday night, when I got it!!!  No wonder they were so crabby!!!  It was horrible, especially, while pregnant!  I have successfully gotten it every year that the kids have gotten it. But, I was fine by Monday, and very relieved that this all took place before our trip to South Carolina!!! :)

2 Kids at Play!

Annabelle stayed home from school today, with some sort of funk. She was vomiting, lethargic, and very tired. Of course, when you have a child with a shunt in her head, you realize very quickly that many illnesses, have the same symptoms as a shunt malfunction. Anyhow, she rested most of the morning, and when Cooper woke up from her nap, she was feeling much better. So, Cooper, Annabelle and myself played in the twins room. And, of course, the Disney castle is the favorite. We also had a tea party, and played restaurant (Cooper was deemed an unsuitable server by Annabelle, she said she got her order wrong!)

I started to think about what it would be like to only have 2 kids. And of course, it's easier in some respects, but in others, I realized that the older child gets really bored, really fast, if they only have a toddler to play with. I guess you don't have that "same age" play group that I have, if you only have 2, and when all 4 play together, there are all sorts of different dynamics. Annabelle is great with Cooper, but she truly has more fun with Olivia and Carter (because they are the same age.) Cooper's crazy antics are funny when there's the "out" of playing with your twin or your brother who's only 9 months older.

So, the conclusion? I'll keep them just the way they are! They might be many in number, and close in age, but we've already weathered the hardest part, this part (the one where they all can play together) is the one we've been waiting for!!! :)

School!

Last week, each of the kids had an open house for their classroom. This allows the kids to take the parents into the classroom, and show them their routine, what they have been working on, and their favorite "works." Jason was out of town on Tuesday, so Cooper was unable to attend hers, but luckily her teachers wanted to do a "private" open house (which is SO nice of them) this Wednesday.

Annabelle and Olivia had theirs on Wednesday night, and it was GREAT!!! I took them and the were so proud to show me all the things in the classroom, all their favorites, and their daily routine. The girls both love the art area, but also showed tons of interest in counting works, and others. They really have a great attention spans, and are so well-behaved. You can really tell that they are well-like by their teachers, and that is not a surprise. Annabelle even made sure that I knew the difference between and ellipse, and an oval (seriously, she's 4!) It was really great to see them in action!

Carter had his "night" on Thursday, and he had 2 classes to attend. Carter goes to a regular preschool class, and then attends what's called "extended preschool." This is more kindergarten readiness, and focuses more heavily on reading, math, and all the building blocks of what's to come in kindergarten. As it turns out, Carter isn't the whining, crying, under achiever we thought he was!!! I was truly impressed with his teachers comments on how he is working on challenging topics, he is learning to read, he is doing addition, and knows all the continents! It's really a far cry from where he was at the beginning of the year! I guess I had my expectations set pretty low, but it was a pleasant surprise none the less. He too seems well-liked, and very happy at school!!

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't completely thrilled! It's nice to know that your kids are well-behaved, and happy when they are at school!!!

Random Pictures...

Here are some random pictures that were taken recently!

Not exactly sure what Annabelle is doing here, in this picture, just goofing around!!!! :)