Conversation Overheard

Gary and I hear a ton of really funny things from the kids each day.  There’s no way I can ever remember them all, but some really stick out as especially funny.  Like the conversation that Piper and Rosemary had yesterday while they were outside playing. . . .

Piper:  Rosemary!  I have a ball!  Do you want to roll it to each other?

Rosemary:  No.

Piper:  Want to kick it to each other?

Rosemary:  No.

Piper:  Do you want to throw it to each other?

Rosemary:  No.

Piper:  [Piper is genuinely perplexed at this point.]  What do you want to do?

Rosemary:  I just want to chill out. 

Fair enough.  These kids are hilarious! 

Taking Back the Dining Room

Back just a little over three years ago, we turned our dining room into a playroom.  It was a big decision for us, but we needed someplace downstairs where we could all hang out and the kids could be safe and contained.  The playroom served us very well.  But now we’ve reached the point where the kids roam free, and the playroom became a bit of a junk room for their toys. 

Gary and I have been working on cleaning out the entire house and rearranging rooms.  We aren’t going to what I would call true minimalist, but we are getting close to it.  We are making remarkable progress, and thankfully don’t have that much left (after this past weekend).  Piper and Rosemary now have their own room, and Henry has his own room.   Penelope has always had her own room.  Now that everyone has their own room and a bit more space, they have some room to keep their toys in their room as well.

Gary and I had assumed that turning the playroom back into a dining room would take several weekends.  I worked a bit on it during naptime on Saturday.  The kids slept incredibly late on Sunday, and didn’t wake up in time for us to make it to church like we had planned.  So, Sunday morning Gary and I decided to do a little work in the playroom.  I don’t know exactly what happened, but the stars must have aligned because Gary and I were both very much in the mood to get everything cleaned out.  A couple of hours into the project, we decided that we were going to push through and try to get done by the end of the day.

We did it.

We are still proud of ourselves!

We did leave the play kitchen in the dining room, as well as the kids’ anywhere chairs and one bin for downstairs toys.  The kids were thrilled.  They hung out in the dining room for quite a while as we were getting ready to return the dining room table to its rightful place and played and played.  Then they were so excited to have a table in there, and they’ve insisted on eating in the dining room a few times.

Perhaps my favorite thing about having the dining room back is that now the kids have access to the piano.  They have played it so much since then.  Which reminds me that we have got to get it tuned – and soon.  

I grabbed the camera to take a few photos while Penelope was playing the piano on Sunday before we moved the table into the dining room. . . .

Spring Social

This past weekend, the Birmingham Area Mothers of Multiples had a spring social at Pump It Up.  The kids were really, really excited to do some jumping. . . .

There was also a huge slide.  Henry LOVED the slide, and Penelope liked it okay.  Piper climbed up the stairs to the top of the slide, but then caused a bit of a pile-up when she chickened out and didn’t want to slide down or climb back down the stairs.  Luckily, Gary finally convinced her to make it down the slide.

We had hoped that she’d be okay with it once she made it to the bottom.  She wasn’t.

Penelope also enjoyed the ride-on toys.  She wasn’t entirely sure what she thought about the sweet boys who pushed her around, though. . . .

The kids had a great time, and so did Gary and I.  I can’t wait for the summer social! 

Perspective

For those of you who were following this blog before it was a blog, you may remember the e-mail update I sent out attaching a photo of Rosemary at 3 weeks old wearing Gary’s wedding band as a bracelet.  I started this blog right after that e-mail update.  I think a lot about that photo.  No matter what it is that we’re worrying about, Gary and I have always said that photo gives us perspective.   

I’m doing a photography project 52 this year.  Each week, we get a different theme and then take a photo that shows our interpretation of that theme.  This week, the theme is Perspective.

I immediately knew what I wanted to do. 

I’ve experienced such a rush of emotions since I took these photos Tuesday morning.  I’ve thought back to when she was born and we learned that she only weighed 1 pound 14 ounces.

I’ve thought back to when she was about a week old and had to have a lumbar puncture, which is a nice name for a spinal tap. I’ve thought about how I sat outside the NICU bawling, waiting for them to finish the procedure, terrified of what we’d learn. 

I’ve thought about how we had her assessed for developmental delays when she was 7 months old and we were told that she had the motor skills of a 2 month old.  And I’ve thought about all the therapy we’ve been a part of since then. . . .

I can’t even put into words all the thoughts and feelings these photos have brought to me.  But now . . . now . . . we can celebrate that she is a happy, healthy, smart almost-4-year-old that has caught up on all of her developmental milestones and will be finished with her therapy (we only have speech left) after next month.  Oh, and she has declared that she is not a girl – she is a princess.  Which is absolutely perfect.

Taking these photos was unbelievably emotional for me, but I’m so glad I’ve gone through this process and felt these emotions.  She is such an amazing little miracle. 

Hiking and a Picnic

This past weekend we took the kids on a hike and had a picnic.

Penelope loves her backpack.  She goes crazy as soon as she sees it, and can’t wait to ride on Gary’s back.  I’m sure that Gary’s about ready for her to be able to walk on her own, though, because she is starting to get pretty heavy. . . .

The big kids happily ran and jumped and played the entire hike.  It makes me so happy that they love being outside as much as they do.  Hiking is such a perfect family activity for us all.

When I was taking a few photos during lunch, Penelope gave me this.

Yikes.  Looks like we’re already at that fake smile stage for her!  At least I was able to coax a real one out of her.  Just one, though. . . .

What an awesome weekend.  I’d love for them all to be just like that.