Blade’s First Trip to Chuck-E-Cheese’s

We loaded up and headed to good ole’ Chuck E Cheese today with Papa and the kids had a blast! Despite it being summer, the place wasn’t crowded at all and we were some of the first ones there. At the quads’ age I would have never even considered taking them to such a germ infested place but thanks to Blade’s spiffy health I felt he had earned his first trip! No worries, you better believe we bathed in sanitizer several times ;)

My little dude had a ball and was such a trooper as he played right through his normal nap time! Love this little cheesy picture of him and his new friend – the hand on the shoulder was not staged, I swear!

I somehow managed to get him to smile through an etch-a-sketch type portrait…

Another big deal was that Brody & ESPECIALLY Kylee got up close and personal with Chuck E Cheese! Here they are when we first arrived, keeping a good distance between them and the terrifying mouse that Korbin & B so bravely rushed up to…

Although Brody stayed back, Kylee joined her brother and sis up front and center to do the cupid shuffle with Chuck E Cheese! Those of you who know her fear of characters (Santa, Easter Bunny, Looney Tunes…the list goes on) know that this is a HUGE deal for her! When the song was over I watched her as she quickly but cautiously attempted to reach out and touch him as he walked by. You could almost hear the sound of her heart beat in her little chest she was so nervous! “Good Job Chuck-Eeeeee!” she yelled. So sweet!

Blade crashed just as the quads hit the ticket counter to buy their prizes – the sign of one good adventure!

Stay tuned – his NINE month appointment – Thursday!

Life on Facebook

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a Facebook addict and how I depend on it for a connection to the outside world. I love posting little tid bits about my days (I’ll admit, I’m probably what many consider an “overposter”)  and love to keep up with others as well. During these days especially, nothing brings me more peace than seeing posts from my mom friends about what their kids broke, ate, peed on or tried to flush down the toilet that day. It’s posts and pictures like those that remind me that I am not the only soul on the planet trying to survive this crazy, yet blessed, road of parenting. I thought I’d do a post of some of the things going on on the Facebook page of Heather Cox these days. Enjoy these random status updates, and pictures or course ;)

“Brody "Mom, how bout if we are bad when we go to bed you could separate us. One could go in the playroom. One could go to blade's room. One could sleep in the livey-room and the rest of them could sleep in your bed." Not sure how many kids he thinks we have in this house but ok!”

“Conversation at lunch - korbin "baxlyn, what are you think you gonna be when you grow up?" Baxlyn "I was thinkin I was gonna be a farmer." Korbin "I'm gonna be a cowgirr!"

“The neighbor is walking around her yard in a bright yellow rain coat. I have the quads convinced its a GIANT yellow duck. Muaahaaahaaahaa!”

“Brody's prayer at dinner "dear Jesus, thank you for baby blade. Thank you for daddy, for bashi, korbin and thank you for kylee. Amen!" Once again, thanks buddy!”

“A (very clean) live scorpion just fell out of my washer. Nice.”

“Sometimes parenting involves daddy hiding in the boys room just before they go to bed and convincing them that there's a cow in their closet. Teehee...mean mommy & daddy. RRRoooaaarrrr! MOOOOOO!”

“Listening to Baxlyn singing in her bed "oh mit Donald had a farm e i e i o and on his farm he had......uh?.....oh mit Donald had a farm wit a pig....everyone oink oink, everyone oink oink!" So cute!”

“So I just woke up and talked to this Siri chick on my phone for the first time. I told her I was so tired she replied "listen to me heather. Put down this iPhone and go take a nap right now. I'll wait here." This is my kind of girl!”

“Brody "Mom, you are so handsome!" The best compliment I could ever get. Thanks buddy :]”

“One of the best feelings in the world? Forgetting that two of your kids are spending the night at Nana's house and remembering at the last minute! Enjoying some time with my four men!”

“I just got home from a long (fun) business meeting. Baxlyn peeked out their bedroom door and whispered "I want to habe a date wiff you. I wanna watch a mobie and habe a date wiff you." .....like I can say no to that!”

“Just a few of the questions during dinner... "why is mommy little? why is daddy big? why is blade only one baby? can we have a girr next time?" Oh, four year olds, the questions never end!”

Father’s Day!

“I sat watching these two play and decided to do some measurements for comparison. Baxlyn 32lbs, Blade 23lbs. Their wrists, ankles and biceps are the exact same and his thighs are an inch bigger. Geeeez!”

“They have no idea daddy and mommy went to get them a doggy of their own! They are going to be so happy!” – Bethany, while watching the quads while we went for Brooke.

“Daddy kinda bought the wrong size for night time pull ups... Maybe he was thinking their COMBINED weight? Ugh!”

“Yeah that sucks. Anyone wanna come change a diap?”

“I told her she could do a roman candle when she turned 7. five mins later daddy hooked her up, so much for that!”

Blade’s first 4th!

A trip to the pediatrician’s!

We arrived at swim lessons, I look back to this…

Baby Blade & Brody

Until next time

Meet Brooke!

It’s been a week since we welcomed Brooke, a red fox Labrador Retriever, into our family. We put our two dogs to sleep due to old age and complications before the quads turned 2 years old. To this day they all, especially Kylee, still talk about Rocky & Coco. As cute as they are, Bret and I didn’t want to deal with the puppy stage so we opted for an older dog. Our sweet girl will be six years old at the end of July and although she’s never been around kids, she has adapted great with our house full of them!

We were so anxious to see Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin meet Brooke and to our surprise they were very calm, quiet and confused. We have a dog in the neighborhood who always escapes his yard and roams, he’s known as “Brown Dog” and apparently Brooke looks a lot like him. Upon seeing Brooke they thought she was Brown Dog and wondered why he was in our yard. It took some convincing that it was NOT Brown Dog and that this dog was theirs. Brody, Baxlyn & Korbin kinda laughed as they took it all in and Kylee, the one we were expecting a show out of, stood still staring for quite a while. It took some time but once it finally sunk in that this was HER dog she was over the moon excited!

Right off the bat, Brooke wanted to be center of the attention and didn’t mind 8 little hands all over her. SUCH a relief for Bret and I!

Brooke & Baby Blade <3

Kylee & Brooke <3

Korbin and Brooke, which he insisted was “Brooklyn” at first. Once he got her first name down he asked me what her middle name was, I told him I didn’t know and that’s when he decided it would be “Butterscotch”, after the runaway Butterscotch from a few weeks ago.

Baxlyn & Brooke <3

Brody & Brooke <3

The quads with their new BFF on the 4th of July. A side note: this is the girl's’ fourth (and hopefully final) year to wear these skirts – crazy!

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t in love with her too. She’s been near perfect so far. Has tons of energy, loves to fetch, is crate trained, potty trained, doesn’t jump and listens fairly well! Fingers crossed that she continues to be the perfect fit for our family!

Leveling the playing field–we’re expecting a GIRL!!

Estimated date of arrival:  July 3rd of 2013.

Approximate weight: 65lbs.

She has beautiful brown eyes, 4 legs and a beautiful coat of golden blonde hair!

That’s right, you can relax, I’m not pregnant.  If all goes as planned, we will be welcoming a Labrador Retriever into our family ~ TOMORROW! Obviously at 65lbs, we are not getting a puppy but an older dog in need of a good home. A little anxious about the whole transition for her as well as us but I’m praying things go smoothly and we all adjust in a short amount of time!

The best part? The quads have NO idea  

We’ll keep you posted!