Yes folks, we’re still living in modern society with Internet access.  We have not moved to the mountains in tents with a mission to never rely on technology again.

We’re all doing great.  The kids got their first round of H1N1 flu shots last week, which is a relief for us.  Jen entered into a local county lottery to qualify to get the shots (we’ve been unable to get them from the kids Dr.) and was notified the day after that we won.  Maybe I should put Jen in charge of buying my lottery tickets?!?!

We did make it back from Disney World back in late October.  I vow to have pictures put up on the site by the end of this week.

In a nutshell, the trip was great.  The kids had a blast and we really enjoyed seeing them have so much fun.  We got to spend a few days visiting with some family that we don’t get to see too often which was awesome too.  By the end of the week we definitely all were tired and ready to come back.  I think things will be much easier when we decide to go back in 4+ years or so.

The kids are all doing well.  Preschool has been great and the kids learn fun new things every week.  Alex is loving his sports class at Little Gym and seems to be really into it.  He’s always trying hard to follow Mr. Dave’s instructions exactly so that he can accomplish the task at hand and seems to be focused the whole time.  He’s much more into this than the karate classes he tried.

Avery is also doing great at her dance/ballet class which is also at Little Gym.  She initially had some issues where she would cry and didn’t want to get started with each class (shyness or separation anxiety maybe), but she’s gotten over those things now.  It amazes me and Jen each week with the fancy dance steps she’s learning and how well she can do them.  Avery’s instructor even said that there were a few moves that she was the only one that could do them initially.  Go Avery!  I also mentioned to Jen last night that she seems more graceful and less clumsy when running and playing around the house.  We also just learned this week that they will be having a little recital/performance at the end of this session in January.  You can bet that the camcorder will be rolling so that we can share that with you all too.

Adam is doing great too.  He’s signed up for a Little Gym class starting up in January too (are you seeing a theme here? My paychecks just get deposited into THEIR bank account every month).  He loves to read and talks up a storm.  He’s stringing tons of words together too and has no problems letting you know what he wants or tattling on Ah or Ee (Alex or Avery) when they do something bad to him (or even when they don’t).  Alex has even taken to reading some books that he enjoyed a few years ago to Adam in the mornings — very cute!

We’re all gearing up for the holidays now as you can imagine.  We’ll hopefully get our tree this weekend and start to get down the decorations.  I’m looking forward to some yummy food and time with family this week.

The week will end with my birthday on Sunday and me getting to go to the Ravens vs. Steelers Sunday Night Football game at M&T Bank Stadium.  The tickets were a surprised from Jen for my birthday.  She even contacted my boss and arranged for me to be off work on Monday.  How awesome is she?

I’d like to end this post to truly give thanks to my wonderful and loving family and to say how truly blessed I feel.  I’m thankful for being employed, for having happy, healthy and such smart kids, and for having such a wonderful and strong wife.  I feel very lucky in so many ways — thanks!

The littlest Kitchen is growing up so quickly! We had his 18 month appointment yesterday and he’s 27 pounds and mostly in 24 month / 2T clothing. I look at how active and crazy he is and think, “Wow, I cannot believe I was 6 months pregnant with him when the twins were this age. How the heck did I keep up with them???” But truth be told, I think he is wilder and crazier than the twins ever were. He just loves to be on the move, climbing, running, and doing what his big brother and sister are doing. I think he thinks he was born a triplet to them, not 21 months younger.

One of his favorite things to do these days is dance. He smiles and spins in circles and flaps his arms til he falls over. He’s also mastered Jennifer Beals’ running dance from Flashdance, which is hilarious. He goes over to the iPod dock or brings me the iPod itself, saying “Song? Song?” and gets super excited when I put anything on. We have regular dance parties to Bob Marley’s Legend, Taylor Swift’s 2 records, and somehow he and Alex learned about Foo Fighters so sometimes he requests them: “Foo? Foo?” He also is in love with the Hokey Pokey Elmo we got last Christmas from Aunt Hailey and Aunt Lauren. He puts it on and expects everyone to stop what they are doing and Hokey Pokey with them. He’s not a fan of slow songs, though, saying, “No, no, no!” whenever one comes on.

He’s becoming quite the drama queen as well, tattling on Avery and Alex if they so much as touch him sometimes. A typical incident goes like this:

A twin takes a toy from him, shoves him, or accidentally bumps into him.
Adam grabs the “injured” body part and says, “Ow! Ow!” over and over again.
Me: What happened?
Adam: “Ah” (which is not helpful at all since he calls both twins Ah most of the time.)
Me: What did he/she do?
Adam: uses hand motions and words like “hit” or “poosh” to tell on them, complete with sad face and eyes welling with tears
And then I have to ask the witness and perpetrator to tell me what happened, which they always declare is nothing at all, and I feel like I am trying a crime with no evidence. Half the time he will have hit one of them first… He likes to tell on the cats for scratching him too, and I tell him to go tell them No No, and he goes over and shakes his finger at them and tells them no. The scratches aren’t undeserved – he chases those poor kittens, carries them around, and yesterday I found him kneeling with his full weight on Charlotte. Never a dull moment.

He’s picking up more and more words, but not stringing them together yet. He’s learned the names of some of the Playhouse Disney crew: Mickey is “Mouse,” Manny is “Manny,” and Oso sounds dangerously close to “Asshole.” Lovely. He also likes to demand a “nack” (snack), and loves to ask for “mo”(more) of everything – food, drinks, planes flying overhead, and thunder – while doing the sign for more. He’s not pleased when something he requests more of is out of our control, as with the planes and thunder.

Adam is starting to really enjoy books, too. His vocabulary has taken off and there’s not much he can’t name. He likes to tell me what everything is in Goodnight Moon and move the flaps in Karen Katz books. He’s doing puzzles and shape sorters all the time. And he also really likes helping Avery take care of her baby dolls, especially Baby Alive, whom he gags with her spoon daily.

He’s still nursing, usually 2-3 times a day. Part of me is very ready to be done, but it’s easy for us and makes putting him to bed and naps super easy, so I haven’t pushed it too hard. He loves his blue puppy dog and playing with Baby Tad in his crib. He’s super friendly and waves hi to anyone and everyone, not shy at all. He’s very much a happy-go-lucky kid with a great sense of humor, and I hope that continues instead of getting to the terrible 2s for him!

So do little boys who push stools around the garage, enjoying the ear-splitting, obnoxious sound they make. Alex found that out the hard way. Tuesday night as I was making dinner, the kids were playing in the garage. I stepped inside to stir something for 30 seconds, and heard the unmistakable sound of an injury. Running out, I saw Alex sobbing with blood pouring from his mouth. I think there’s nothing that prepares you for that as a parent – the fear that they’ve really hurt themselves or knocked teeth out. I grabbed him up and plunked him down on the kitchen counter and held pressure by his mouth with a towel to try and stop the flow. When I took a peek to see the damage, it was clear that he had bitten himself by the two perfect little toothmarks below his bottom lip. The blood coming from inside his mouth told me he’d gone all the way through. A cool piercing when you are 18, but not so much when you’re three.

Alex was really brave, though. He had stopped crying within five minutes or so and in fact was kind of pissed when Avery and Adam were eating tacos and he wasn’t as we waited for the doctor to call back and advise us about his need for stitches. In the end, he ate a taco, I put Adam to bed, and then he and I made a 4 hour trip to the emergency room. Well, the drive was only 35 minutes but the wait…Ugh. We got there at 7:30, and he had been up since 7 am with no nap. He was such a trooper, sitting in my lap and not complaining that I wouldn’t let him touch anything but my phone as we waited and waited and waited some more to be triaged. I didn’t want us bringing home swine flu or anything else we didn’t arrive with. He happily played driving games and others as we sat. We finally got back to the nurse around 9:15, and it was decided that he needed LET gel, which is lidocaine and two other things to numb the skin. After it was on, the nurse informed me it would take about 45 minutes to work, so it was back to the waiting room for us. Yay. Just before 11, we were finally called back into the patient care area. I sat him on the bed. As a lady came in and began to handle registration and insurance information, I noticed Alex’s eyes closing and his head wobbling. He really looked like he was about to fall over from exhaustion. I laid him down and within 30 seconds, he was asleep. Over the course of the next 30 minutes, the doctor came in to take a look at the wound and I asked if he’d be able to stitch him while he slept. He said he hoped so and would try. Sure enough, Alex flinched as the bandage holding the gel on was removed, but then slept right through the big moment. Two stitches that should dissolve in a week or so were sewn in, and we were done. The poor guy stayed completely knocked out through that, me carrying him to the van, strapping him in, driving home, carrying him into his room, and laying him in bed. Thank goodness I had thought to put him in his pajamas before we left for the hospital. It was midnight by the time we got home.

In the end, I’m glad we got our first stitches out of the way. I’m sure they won’t be the only ones, especially for the boys, but hopefully this sets a precedent for smooth sailing through any future ones!

Yes everybody, this is what my 3 year old son has been obsessing over for the past few months.  For whatever reason when we got a Halloween costume catalog a few months ago THIS is what he decided he wanted to be.  A Garden Gnome.  For a second we were relived that the biggest it came in from the catalog was a 2T.  Then this week while shopping at Walmart Jen saw it in bigger sizes.

So, Alex got his “Gnome Guard” and he will be a happy boy this Halloween.  Crazy kid!

It’s been a pretty exciting last few weeks. I was in the shower one day thinking about Avery and Alex’s room, and someday giving them their own rooms by moving Avery to the guest room. For as rarely as people spend the night here, it seemed a waste to leave one of the largest spaces in the cramped house empty 99% of the time. So I told Don my idea in this “Someday, I think we should…” sort of way and he was all, “Yeah, let’s do it by next weekend!” We talked it up with Avery, painted some pink stripes on her walls and got her a princess canopy for the bed, which she’s coveted ever since she saw at Ikea a year or so ago. We made the move and hoped for the best, and it’s gone beyond my wildest dreams well. Don had to sleep with her the first night, and she came and slept in our bed around 3 the next night, but since then, she’s done pretty well, with only a few instances of coming to our room saying she needs someone to snuggle with her. She loves having a girly room and wasted no time in hauling every pink, girly item in the house into her room. I came downstairs one day and she was dragging the cradle/highchair combo that sat unused in their play area into her room. She now plays with it and her dolls every day during rest time, and it’s so cute to hear her in there setting up picnics, packing bags for them, etc.

The move has been good for Alex as well. He’s getting a big-boy sports themed room, with a full mattress and he now has room for some of his own toys in his room too, since we took Avery’s toddler bed out. He also plays nicely with his cars or tools during rest time. Even better, both kids seem to be getting the sleep they need rather than being subjected to the other’s scheduling. Alex tends to need more naps, but when they were sharing, we had reached a point where they wrestled and were loud and silly most days instead of getting any rest. Everyone was whiny and cranky on those days – not fun for kids or mom or dad. Also, Alex tends to be an earlier to bed, earlier to rise sort of person than his sister. We still have arguments about them not being ready for bed, or not being able to sleep, but at least now they only affect themselves and not their twin as well.

We’ll post pics once Alex’s room is finished.

Will I ever catch up on all the milestones in this house? Here’s a big one.

Upon our return from the Outer Banks, we decided to try having the Binky Fairy come to take away Alex’s 2 binks and leave him a big boy toy. I was dreading the big event, sure it would mess up the one child in this house who does reliably sleep through the night. I know he’s 3, but it’s not like he’s that 5 year old in Walmart taking his pacifier out so he can suck down his Mountain Dew. The old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” sprang to mind every time I considered it. But when a speech therapist from Frederick County Public Schools could tell within a 5 minute conversation that he used one, even if it was only at bedtime and for naps, and hinted that it could be causing some of the speech concerns we have, I knew the time had come.

We talked it up for a few weeks before, and Alex was mostly on board. He wanted a suction cup dart shooter like his good buddies Evan and Jake have at their house in exchange for giving the pacifiers to a new baby who needed them via the Binky Fairy.

I was feeling wimpy, though, so I decided to give it a trial run on the night we got home from the beach. The kids were exhausted and we put Alex to bed telling him that we couldn’t find his binkies, they must have been packed in our luggage, and I’d bring them when I found them. I figured if things got ugly, we could give them back and lie to ourselves about him just not being ready and put it off another 6 months or so. To my great shock, he slept all night without them. Success! The next night, he got a letter from the binky fairy explaining that she had taken his binkies, and she’d leave him a great toy the following night because she was so grateful and proud of him. He got his suction cup dart shooter the next morning. Turns out the binky fairy didn’t read the packaging that said the toy was appropriate for kids 8 and up, so Alex can’t pull the action part back, and you have to do that every time you want to shoot. I helped him a few times, but for the most part now, a couple of weeks later, the gun is MIA, the kittens play with the dusty old darts when they find them under the couch, and Adam has bitten 2 or 3 darts in half. The biggest miracle of all is that after the first couple of days, when Alex would randomly ask for his binky, he has completely forgotten about them. We’ve not had a single tear, much less the crying, screaming fits I had envisioned. I’m so proud of how easily Alex gave up something that gave him lots of comfort and really helped him to settle himself down when he was upset.

Now, we just need to get Avery to stop sucking her thumb! A long time ago, she asked me if there was a thumb fairy who would come and cut hers off. I told her no, but we may need to revisit that.

July 19 was a very special day for our family. Friends and family gathered from near and far far and wide to celebrate the baptism of Alex, Avery, and Adam. (We don’t have anyone who lives “near.”) I’ve always felt a bit guilty about not getting myself organized and motivated enough to have had the twins done when they were babies. Choosing godparents was enough to drive me crazy because of the Church’s rules about one godparent being Catholic and our lack of male Catholic friends, coupled with an age requirement that allowed Aunt Lauren to be a godmother now, but not when the twins were babies. Poor Aunt Hailey was still shut out due to her age. Better late than never, though. Baptism was important to me not necessarily because I believe everything the Catholic church espouses, but because I think religious education is an excellent foundation for becoming a good person – one who makes the right choices when it comes to treating others kindly. I know I am far from perfect, but I do believe my years in Catholic school shaped me to be a person who looks for what’s on the inside, is tolerant, and respects others. I hope their baptism will be the beginning of a similar experience for my children.

It was a beautiful day and the kids looked adorable… angelic, even… dressed in their white outfits.

We gathered in the little white chapel of St. Michael’s Poplar Springs and were immediately taken with the intimacy the small venue provided. Deacon Harbe spoke for a while about the history of the parish as we waited for everyone to arrive, and then the celebration began. The twins were really great about sitting quietly and mostly paying attention, even if they didn’t understand everything (anything?) that was going on. Adam, on the other hand, was all over the place. The baptism took place smack in the middle of naptime, which made him even harder to deal with. He was not the most pious toddler, making me chase him into the office area, climbing all over the altar area, falling off the step in front of the altar and crying, and generally being crazy. All that kept going through my head as I chased him was, “I hope God has a sense of humor!”

When the time came for the Holy Water, we carried each child up individually. Adam was first because he was already up at the altar.

Joined by his godparents, his 2 Aunt Staceys, at the baptismal font, he wasn’t phased at all by having the water poured on his head. Have I mentioned before what an easygoing kid he is?

Next it was Alex’s turn, and he also did really well.

Don held him and his godparents, Uncle James and Aunt Jen looked on as he received the sacrament.

Next it was Avery’s turn, and she was in tears before we ever got her up front.

She’s the kind of kid who gets super shy when she knows she has attention focused on her, so to be in front of a room full of people, with some guy she didn’t know about to pour water over her head, was just too much for her. Adding to that, we later found out, she had somehow gotten nursemaid’s elbow again at some point earlier during the ceremony, so her arm hurt and she couldn’t move it. Aunt Lauren and Uncle Bill stood with us for their godchild, and we got her done as quickly as possible. Thankfully Aunt Stacey knew how to reduce her elbow and get everything back into place, and that was taken care of quickly.

When the ceremony was over, we traveled back to Casa Kitchen for burgers, hot dogs, and lots of time for everyone to socialize. I was struck that day by how blessed Don and I, and Alex, Avery and Adam, are. Our families are small but close-knit, and our friends are amazing. They love us all so much, and it just felt really good to know everyone had come together to show their commitment to our children. Thank you to all of you who joined us that day. We love you all.

So many of these deserve their own posts, and they may well get one someday, but for now, a quick roundup of the events of the last month.

So much to look forward to writing about. For now, a firm intention to record our memories for posterity soon!

Last Saturday while Jen went to get her hair done I decided to venture out with all three kids on my own.  I’ve done this before and it definitely wasn’t easy on past attempts.  The main issue really is the inevitable “I gotta pee” or “I gotta go poop” that comes at the most inconvenient time (like right when we get to a store or wherever we were going).  After thinking about it leading up to Saturday I figured the park down the street was a fun place for them and an easy outing for me.

This park is pretty new (~ 3 years old) and has 2 different playgrounds.  As we were headed in Alex and Avery said they wanted to play on the lower playground, which we don’t usually visit.  Luckily we had the whole playground to ourselves which made my job much easier.  All 3 kids had fun and the park even had some small stuff that Adam could enjoy.

After a while on the playground I got out the stroller for Adam and we all 4 went on a nature walk around a very small part of the ~ 1 mile path.  The kids enjoyed all of the nature (birds, bees, etc) and luckily there were some very clean/over-sized porta potties for when the moment we spoke of came (leave it to Alex!)

Luckily I was able to snap a bunch of good pictures while the kids were all playing and getting along.  All in all it was a fun little outing that I was able to handle (as Alex and Avery would say) “all by my own.”

I think I figured out where some of our problems around here stem from. As we were getting ready to come in for the bedtime routine tonight, Don told the twins to pick up their sidewalk chalk, which was scattered all over the garage floor. Avery didn’t hear him, so I told her to please pick it up. She looked at me and said something along the lines of, “No, I will never pick up anything you ever tell me to pick up again.” After a time-out, I called her over and asked her who was in charge, who was the boss, who could give directions in our house. Her response? “Me?” as she pointed to herself, sort of incredulous that I didn’t know that already. Umm, that would be a big old no, sweetie, but now that we know for sure that’s what you thought, we’ll get that clarified for you.