Pita the Elf

We had a great Thanksgiving and spent the day at Papaw's house with friends and family! I absolutely love this time of year, the cooler weather, being with family, the decor...everything. With 4 two year olds who are starting to understand a little of what Christmas is all about, the magic is in the air!

Many of you, I'm sure, are familiar with the Elf on the Shelf. I just heard about it last year but apparently this little tradition has been around for years. In case you're like me and out of the loop, let me fill you in. The Elf on the Shelf comes to your house at Christmas time and watches your children during the day. Each night your elf flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa Claus, letting him know if the child was on their good behavior or not. He returns each morning and can be found sitting in a new place to keep an eye out for another day. After learning about the little guy, I knew we eventually would have to get one. Having forgotten about it since last Christmas, I went to my Mom's house a few weeks ago and there it sat... a fancy white box that contained our very own Elf on the Shelf!

We put up our Christmas tree a few days ago (yes, before Thanksgiving) and today I introduced the quads to the elf who would be visiting us daily until Christmas. They all sat and gazed with excitement as I opened up the special box this morning and they all yelled "SANTA CWAUS!!!" when they saw the little elf sitting inside. I explained to them he was an elf from the North Pole, Santa's helper, and told them he was here to see if they're being good or bad and how he would report to Santa each night. At two years old they don't really grasp the whole idea but the wheels are slowly turning! I told them we needed to name the elf and Brody's first response was "Christmas Light". Kylee came up with "Pita"....sorry Brody I think we're going with Pita.

Pita also came with a book, explaining just what he does for Santa and reminding the kids to be good rather than naughty! Find out more about the Elf on the Shelf by clicking here! Click here to see Santa's elves in training camp!We'll keep you posted on our new pal Pita!

"Potty like a Rock, Potty like a Rock Star..."

Rock Stars, that's what they are. Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin have continued to do GREAT at potty training! It's been just over a week now since we did our 3(4) Day Potty Training and wow, I'm still amazed at how...dare I say... easy it's been. Between them all, we have one accident every 2 days or so...not too shabby!

We went out for their Mamaw's birthday last week, our first time at a restaurant, I was nervous to say the least. I called the restaurant ahead of time to see if they took reservations, of course, they didn't. I explained our situation to them as well as our STRONG need to be sat as close to the restroom as possible. Thankfully they accommodated us and our table was just feet from the bathroom door. I arrived with the babies a bit early (we were meeting Daddy & Mamaw there) so we could all get familiar with and use the potty. It was our first public restroom experience and eww. The restroom itself was "clean" and well kept for an adult who ya know, DOESN'T grip the toilet seat and practically stick their head IN the toilet to say bye bye to the pee as it's flushed down the toilet and lay on the bathroom floor to peek under the wall of the stall next to us. Although I would feel ok using that potty, having four two year olds in there was not exactly this germ-a-phobic momma's dream. It was a little chaotic to say the least but they all went and we eventually made it to our table. Between the jammin' music that Brody was into (good gosh it felt like we were in a night club as loud as the bathroom music was) and Kylee's slight addiction to flushing the toilet repeatedly I was so afraid they would think the bathroom was way cool and would "need to go" every 5 minutes. To my surprise, they all sat the entire dinner not one gave a thought to the potty again. At the end of the meal we paraded (with our little potty seat in hand) back into the restroom for one last "go" before we left for home. Zero accidents, again, leaving me a proud proud Mommy!

Friday morning we, along with the rest of the family, headed to the Gaylord Texan Ice Sculptures. I was so excited to go see the beautiful scenes made out of ice but was super anxious about the quads being in panties and underwear. It was a bit of a drive and I, having never been there, didn't know what to expect when we got there. I had no clue how big this place was, how crowded it would be, how many bathrooms they had or where they were located. Bret and I decided we would put them in Pull Ups for this trip knowing it would likely be a challenge to get them all to a potty if needed. The kids are great at treating their Pull Ups like panites and know that they are not supposed to pee in them. We got to the Gaylord around 9am and enjoyed walking around the inside of the building that was BEAUTIFULLY decorated for Christmas. We headed over to the Ice Sculptures at 10am and at this point nobody had asked to go potty. To be honest, Bret and I didn't even ask them if they needed to go, assuming they would just go in their Pull Up after too long. I so don't want to be a parent that says "Oh, just go in your Pull Up" if their kids asks to go potty...even though that's what I would have wanted to say. This place was BIG and it would have been a long walk to find a potty for a toddler who gives you about a 9 second warning before needing to pee. We all kept our mouths shut and enjoyed the awesome sculptures.

This place was gorgeous. If you're local and haven't been, GO!

Korbin & I checkin' out one of the many trains!

...and the HUGE Christmas tree!

Lot's of Mommy pics today huh?! Thanks again John & Darrell for being in charge of the pics! Below, would have been great if lil' Miss B would have joined us...what you don't see is her insisting on looking over the opposite side of the bridge...oh that girl, gotta be different.

All bundled up ready to see the Ice... or "eyes" as the babies thought we were gonna see. Notice the onlookers behind me as we wait for our escort...
Just one of the pics from inside the exhibit. Hard to see but here's Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin with Shrek, Fiona and their triplets! All of that you see is ICE... so amazing!What's this....a family photo on Shrek's front porch?!? We rarely get a picture of the 6 of us together and I'm pretty sure all of the onlookers thought I was nuts after celebrating the fact we got it! Thanks John for taking it :) Bret was able to talk Baxlyn into cooperating by offering her the best seat in the house, his neck. I can't help but wonder what she's thinking as she check out his nearly hairless head lol.
After leaving the Gaylord, we all drove to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Bret and I planned on taking them potty and were assuming they would all be wet. Totally wrong, NOT ONE had gone potty in their Pull Up....are you kidding me?!!?! SWEET! They went from 8ish am until noon and didn't potty once, I was shocked and again so so proud! Once again they PROVED to me they CAN do this!

We've had several more outings since then...Papaw's house, church, friend's house and this morning, Chuck E Cheese, all trips were successful with no accidents. Simply amazing! For those of you who read the previous post, Potting Training: The Scoop!, you'll be happy to know there has been a great increase in Sucker consumption as well as BIG stickers to the sticker charts! The girls still prefer to "go" at night/nap but the boys are serious about the number 2 business and go in the toilet! I can only pray this successful diaper-free (daytime at least) life continues to go so well!

Potty Training: The Scoop!

Ahhh potty training quadruplets, what a job! Don't get me wrong, I won't brave to say they are completely potty trained 100% but our 3(4) day weekend extravaganza was overall a HUGE success and we have said adios to daytime diapers! Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin are now 33 months old (30 if you want to adjust) and I think that has been a big part of our success. My biggest fear was starting too soon only to find they were not ready, going back to diapers, leaving them confused. I am super duper lucky in having a TON of quad moms across the US at my fingertips via the internet who have been there done that when it comes to anything quadruplets. Sleeping through the night, night feedings, transportation, developmental issues and even potty training, they've got tons of advice on and for that I am so grateful. Since having the quads I've heard a ton about the "3 Day Potty Training Method". There's a book out there with specific instructions on how to potty train toddlers in 3 days. I personally know a handful of moms who have used this method and it has been successful 99% of the time. Not to say there are NO accidents from there on out, but for the most part they've got it. I don't have the book myself but my quad mommas have given me the "important info" so I took it and ran with it. Basically you stay HOME for 3 days and do nothing but focus on the potty while downplaying accidents and celebrating any little drip of pee that hits their porcelain plastic throne.

To prepare, Bret and I (with donations from Mamaw, Nana, Chris & Bethany!) stocked up on our cleaning supplies you'll see in the pic below as well as plenty of goodies to use as rewards. We transformed our cute little entryway into a "community bathroom", if you will. Tile floor was a must and the bathroom was a bit too small for all 4 potties so the entryway it was. In a small house, ya do what ya gotta do, right?! We also laid down plastic tarps from wall to wall to protect our white carpets. With 4 naked babies and just 2 adults things could easily get out of hand and we wanted to be prepared!

It's a no brainer that potty training multiple toddlers at a time can take a toll on you mentally therefore there was NO WAY I was going to do this alone. Day 1 Bret stayed home from work to help out. We woke up early ready to take on our first official day of potty training. Although people told me to just have Bret and I alone, realistically that wasn't going to happen with our busy schedules. Just 1 hour into our potty training experience we were expecting 3 therapists at the door. In all fairness the therapists were warned ahead of time about the adventure we were embarking upon that weekend and still agreed to come! They were greeted with our "Welcome to Potty City" sign that was hanging on our door!

We woke the quads up and brought them out and told them "Today we're wearing big girl/boy panties/undies! Wahooo!" We let each of them pick out a pair of undies and the pottying began.... all but Brody that is. They all sat, peed and were rewarded with their sticker and choice of an M&M or a Skittle. Before ya know the therapists were there and began their sessions with Brody & Kylee. As each minute passed we repeated phrases like "Be sure you go potty on the potty, not in your panties!" "Tell us if you need to go potty, ok?" "Brody, do you need to go potty?" Every once in a while someone would go but Brody continued to hold it making me a nervous wreck. The dude held it in for several hours and then FINALLY went! Whew!

The rest of the day went fairly well, to my surprise it wasn't too stressful and went smoothly. We did put them in Pull Ups during nap as I am not expecting them to be able to hold it in their sleep. Two were dry when they woke up, whoop whoop! Night time, by the way, we are still doing diapers, only because Pull Ups won't hold a night time's amount of pee. Not sure when we'll do night training but it won't be in our near future. OK back to business, Day 1 we had a total of 4, only 4 accidents! One from Korbin and surprisingly 3 from Baxlyn. The two I thought we'd have the biggest issues with, no problemo whatsoever! Although it was a great start, nobody pooped all day. My babies have NEVER been "frequent poopers" so I wasn't surprised but was left hoping for a number two or two the next day so we could practice conquering that part of potty training as well.

Bret has been super busy working on a big project lately (EEK!) and was not able to be with me the rest of the weekend so one of my BFFs Bethany came over Friday night to be there when the quads woke up Saturday morning and stayed the ENTIRE weekend, God love her. She and I, I swear, are one in the same. We work very well together and can tackle just about anything thrown at us. Bethany, thank you so so SO SOO much girl! Everyone who has been through the Three Day Method, and I mean EVERYONE, warned me that Day 2 was the worst. I was told to expect them to wake up and completely forget what they had learned Day 1 and prepare to start all over again. Every mom I have talked to said that their level of stress was pushed to the limit on Day 2 so naturally, I was expecting the same.
Day 2 went the TOTAL opposite of what we were expecting. We were in a bind with our photographer and were forced to do our Christmas pics that morning at 11am. After a great few hours at home and no accidents we put them in pull ups and headed down the road to Papaws house for our photo shoot. We were back home in just over an hour and only Kylee had barely wet her Pull Up, everyone else - completely DRY! Below is a fair representation of mine and Bethany's posture throughout the weekend. By the end of Day 2 my back was throbbing from the constant bending over. Pulling up panties, emptying potty seats, pulling down undies, emptying more potty seats, and helping pull up more panties is ALL WE DID. It honestly felt like we were running in circles the entire time. By the time we would empty one potty seat, two others had gone and so on. Not to mention it was our goal to reward each successful pee as quickly as possible with a candy and a sticker to put on their sticker chart. The rest of the early afternoon had gone so well, again having a couple even wake up dry after nap, so we thought we would venture across the street to attend lil' Sammy's 1st birthday party. It was a gamble of course but we figured if one had to go, we would just run them back home (literally across the street), let them go and get back to the party. That was our plan and that's what we did. Kylee made several trips across and Korbin once or twice. Brody & Baxlyn, despite our pressure to get them to try to go potty, insisted they were fine and wanted to play with the other kids giving us a look of "Go away, I'm busy and I don't need to pee, Mom!" We ended up staying about 2 hours and had ZERO accidents the entire time! When we got home, they all sat and peed like pros! We celebrated, and I mean celebrated every drop of pee. Here's Baxlyn and I admiring her fine work...Baxlyn and her prize, a sack of fruit, for coming in 1st Place in Pin The Nose On Elmo at the party!! Lol Go B!Mr. Broman came in 2nd and won a ginormous bag of cotton candy!!Here's a shot of their potty seats along with their sticker charts. You'll notice Baxlyn & Brody have quite a few stickers and then look closer, you'll see Kylee & Korbin have about 3 times the stickers. Sure Brody has proven he can hold his pee for record breaking time meaning less stickers but Kylee and Korbin quickly learned each and every drop of pee gets a reward. Those two would sit, let out a drop or two, celebrate, eat their candy, stick their sticker and go sit down for round two....then three.... then four... all within 40 seconds. Although this is VERY frustrating to deal with when you are the candy/sticker hander outer, and the toilet bowl dumper-wiper, I was reassured by other moms it was normal and to stick with the frequent rewards.We ended day 2 with just the ONE accident. I remember telling Bethany it CAN'T be this easy, it just can't be, Day 2 was supposed to be horrrrrible and yet we had an awesome day. As awesome as it was we still had no practice in the poop department. A couple had gone number two, but during nap, in their pull up. Besides an aching back we were pumped and good to go and ready to take on day 3! Below, sweet boys oh so proud of their sticker charts!Originally our plan was to reward any successful poops with a BIG sticker, a tattoo and a piece of candy. Because nobody had pooped thus far, we upped the ante to a BIG sticker, a tattoo, a piece of candy AND this huge sucker seen below. They all kept their eye on the prize and tried but still...nothing. Day 3: Sunday,"a day of rest"... right? We'll that's apparently what the quads thought. OK, it wasn't horrible but we did have a total of 7 accidents. Honestly, I think the "newness" of their new potty life wore off a little bit and they got a little lazy. We spent some time outside, with their potties nearby of course...I sat from my lawn chair and yelled every few minutes "Don't forget to pee in the potty guys!" "Tell Mommy if you need to go potty!" "Korbin, don't pee in your panties!" It was a gorgeous day, we had the windows open and I'm sure the neighbors did too all while hearing me remind the babies to remember to release their bodily functions in the toilet where they belong. Day 4. We had four consecutive days at home so I kept close notes on all 4 to share with you. Bethany left Sunday night to recuperate from the busy weekend and prepare to head back to work Monday morning. After having our "rough" day three, I called my mom to see if she would come out for a while day 4, just in case they take a wrong turn, take advantage of my lack of help, and send me to an early grave. My mom then informed me that she and Collette, our pastor's wife, were going to be there bright and early in the morning to relieve me. I was required to leave the house for a few hours to do whatever I wanted. Are you kidding me?!?!?! I'll take it!!!!!! So, Monday morning they show up at the door and I'm OUT! What did I do with my precious time away, you ask? I got in my quiet car, drove to Target, parked, rolled down my windows, reclined my seat and sat there. After an hour of me myself and I, Bret met me and we had a LONG OVER DUE lunch date at Chili's where I ate my weight in unhealthy food. During lunch we discussed how nice it was for it to just be the two of us in a small booth that we don't get to enjoy when surrounded by highchairs. After a few hours of toddler-free bliss I headed back home, just after they went down for their naps, perfect timing ;) Day 4 ended with a total of 4 accidents, not perfect but better than day 3.

Day 5: The next step...leaving the house in undies. We had an appointment this morning with Dr. Brister, the quad's dentist. I've been nervous at the thought of this appointment for days now. So many thoughts ran through my head as we came closer and closer... I CAN'T put them in diapers, I refuse. Do I put them in Pull Ups? Do I put them in panties? If I put them in panties, what if they pee in the car....omg what if they POOP in the car...eww?! Maybe I can put them in Pull Ups in the car and then change them into panties once we get there... What if I put them in Pull Ups and they stay dry, they COULD have worn panties? I can put them in panties, they've proved they can do it, right? Ugh, can they? If I put them in panties, I have to take a ton of extra panties AND clothes just in case!

I called my girlfriend and fellow quad mom, Suz, for a little pep talk. I explained my thoughts and she quickly replied "No, Heather, no Pull Ups" She told me to put them in panties/undies, make them pee right before we left, get to the doc's office and have them pee upon arriving. Worst case scenerio, some of them pee and I have to change them when we get there. After talking to her I was geared up and ready to go! (Again I LOVE the support I get from my mamas!) As I packed the diaper bag, I felt like I was packing for newborn infants once again, making sure not to forget any essential item. I packed what seemed like 20 extra pairs of panties/undies, wipes, clorox wipes, plastic bags, clothes, a potty seat and I'll admit it, Pull Ups, just in case. I also brought along 2 potties for the back of the van and covered their car seats with these little absorbant pads by munchkin in case anyone sprung a leak. I have always been a little obsessed with keeping their car seats clean and protecting them from pee and poop is high on my agenda...ugh, can you imagine the mess?
I dressed all the babies and sat them on their potties just before we left the house, all of them peed but Mr.-I-can-hold-my-pee-for-hours-to-freak-mom-out-Brody. Dr. Brister's office is about 25 mintues away and I was sooo nervous the whole drive. Again my fears set in... Do I constantly remind them NOT to potty in their panties as we drive? Do I not mention it at all in hopes to keep their minds off of peeing altogether? OMG (looking in my rearveiw mirror) is that one straining to poop right now or am I just imagining it? Why is this drive taking so long? Oh stop light please don't turn yellow, don't turn yellow, don't turn yellow...crap it turned yellow, I have to stop....OMG babies, please don't pee, your outfits are so cute and coordinating - DONT PEEEEE!

Despite my thoughts of terror, I managed to stay calm. As I pulled up to Dr. Brister's office I jumped out, opened their door and began unloading. My first to unstrap was Korbin, DRY Korbin! A sigh of relief and my heart is pounding as I make my way towards the next one, dry. Then to the back seat 3rd and 4th, dry. REALLY?! YOU ARE ALL DRY?! NOBODY PEED?! WOOOHOOO! As badly as I wanted to celebrate, I knew my luck could run out at any second. I scurry to get them all up the curb, swing the door open (potty seat in hand) and exclaim to the smiling staff "We're on Day 5, where is your bathroom?!?!?!" I herded them all towards the bathroom and one by one and let each of them try to go, which they did with the exception of Brody, of course. It was at that moment, I KNEW they would be fine. Sure we'll have an accident here and there but it was then that I felt a sense of accomplishment. We had done it, they proved they can do it, and my little bitty babies are now big panty and undie wearin' big kids!

The rest of the time at the doctor's office went great. They always do great at the denistry part but they also did great potty-wise. Mom met me there to help out and between the 2 of us we kept them contained between our exam room, the bathroom (which we owned while we were there by the way) and the waiting room. We were there about an hour and a half and before heading out I had them each go potty one last time. Even after this potty trip, Brody STILL hadn't gone... While the others picked a seat in the car, I opened the back door of the van hoping that maybe a little familiar seat would do the trick for Mr. Big Bladder. It took a minute, but Brody finalllly let out a lil' pee. Not a ton but enough to make me less frantic as we drove home!

Sure enough we made it home and nobody had peed in the car! This afternoon, day 5, while Nana was babysitting, Brody finally pooped on the potty and earned the big sucker that was taped on the wall! He walked up to her and said "I poop I poop! I NEED a hug!" Clearly, I am SO pleased with how our potty training experience went and look forward to the $$ we'll be saving in diapers! To sit back and watch them walk to the potty on their own, struggle to pull down their lil' panties and go potty all by themselves is crazy to see and I love it and it makes me SO proud! A SUPER DUPER special thanks to all of you for the encouragement and those special peeps who helped me (us) get through the weekend. There's NO WAY I could have done it alone!

A few quick tips if you're getting ready to take the plunge with your little one(s):

- Commit to staying home for *at least 3 consecutive* days.
- Bring in reinforcements, DO NOT attempt to do it alone, especially if you have multiples!
- Introduce them to the potty a few weeks before so they're a little familiar with it.
- Stock up on cleaning supplies & small rewards you know they'll enjoy.
- Don't stress the small accidents and CELEBRATE every drop of pee that hits the potty!
- As in everything, consistency is key, don't give up. As a mom of quads I LIVE by this.
- When traveling, pack the "just in case" necessities as well as a portable potty.

- My only other words of wisdom would be wait until they're older. All of the moms I know who have done this method has waited until their babies are closer to three years old. Not saying your 20month old can't use this particular method, just sayin' the success I've seen has been with older toddlers.

- Remember when things get tough, at least you are not potty training 4 at a time ;)

If there's something I didn't cover that you are still curious about, please, feel free to ask and I'd be happy to share. Good luck on your potty training and I'll keep ya posted on how ours continue to do over the next few weeks!

11.11.11 - We're Taking "The Plunge"

The time is here... my teeny little 2lb babies begin Potty Training today, someone pinch me!

1 set of un-potty-trained quadruplets, check. 4 lil' potty seats, check. 6 jugs of apple juice, check. Paper towels, check. Sanitizer, check. Bleach, check. Lysol wipes AND disinfectant spray, check. Candy & stickers, check. Febreze air freshener, check. Boat loads of undies and panties, check. Latex gloves, check. Plastic tarp, check. Mommy, check. Daddy, check. BFF Bethany, check. Sanity, even if temporary, check.I can only hope we are prepared for this insane weekend ahead of us. We're attempting the 3 day potty training method beginning this morning, November 11th, 2011. I'm not even gonna lie, I shed a few tears as we prepped the house last night for potty training and unfolded each big boy underwear and big girl panties. No worries, those tears dried up and my frown was turned upside down when I thought about the $$ we'll soon be saving on diapers! CHYEAH BUDDY!

Wish us luck and leave us some love under the comment section, we're gonna need some major support on this one, people! For those of you who won't see parts of this weekend unravel on Facebook, stay tuned. Assuming we survive, you'll have lots of stories, pics, tips and tricks to look forward to!

Cox Quads and Six Flags 2011

We loaded up and headed to Six Flags for the 2nd time with the quads. What was supposed to be an hour drive, because of insane construction and traffic, ended up being nearly a 3 hour drive. That's hours of hearing "I readdyyy... I readdyyy.. I readyyyy!" from the backseat. Not Fun. We eventually made it and were able to enjoy our day with our friends! Chris and Bethany drove to meet us and help us out with our army of little people (thanks again guys!) Here's Daddy making sure everyone is set before we take off!

Upon entering we were spotted by Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck. All morning we had told them we were gonna go see Bugs Bunny to which they'd excitedly reply "I pet the bunny?! I pet the bunny?!" Bugs and Daffy decided to take a seat on the wagon with the quads....yeah...not such a great idea. Since last year, Baxlyn is the only one who has overcome that fear. Korbin's face pretty much sums up what the other three thought of the whole situation...

We quickly got the heck outta there and headed to the swings, they LOVED the swings last year and didn't want to leave them, so surely that would help. The side of the ride closest to the onlookers was filled with other kids so we sat Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korb around the back side. Once the ride started and our foursome swung around towards us, this is what we saw...

The girls came first and were all smiles, the boys, not so much! Each time they came flying around we heard the entire crowd around us say "awwwwwwww!" Once the ride was over the girls begged to ride again while the boys could hardly breathe enough to say a word. Lol!

We figured we'd better stick to the rides where we adults could ride with them due to the TWO traumatizing experiences the boys just had back to back. Our next stop was the hot air balloon ride that slowly took us up into the air and back down again. Here's Bethany and I with Brody, Kylee and an uncooperative B.

Bret and Korbin taking a look as Bret explains the ride, how it is NOT scary and pumps him up about how much FUN he is about to have... (fingers crossed, right?!)

Before we launched...Baxlyn & Mommy

Kylee and her "Bethie". Bethany was Kylees number one priority all day and made sure she stuck with her buddy at all times!

The HAPPY boys headed up to the sky with Daddy & Chris (aka "Uncle Piss" again, unfortunate 2 year old lingo)

Korbin & Baxlyn helping Daddy push the choo through the park.

Kylee & Brody had a blast lagging behind and enjoyed the freedom to roam in every direction! Below Kylee with Mommy & Brody with Bethie.
Bret, Korbin & Baxlyn watching as the BIG train went by!
The 8 of us riding the big train. Baxlyn sat in my lap just long enough for a picture and then scooched her way over to her daddy's lap. I must be un-cool lately... they want nothing to do with me when other people are around :(

Me: "B you wanna sit with Mommy?!" B: "Nope."


Taking a little food and dance break before seeing the rest of the park!

Us adults switched off quad-sitting so we could ride some big kid rides. Below is Chris showing them the big ride he and Bret were about to ride. (Can I take a moment to point out the girls legs....holy moly.... they're gonna be as tall as me by the time they're 4!)

They didn't think much of Daddy & Chris walking away to go ride the ride. We stayed right there and danced to some music and watched rides from afar while we waited to see Bret & Chris and the top of their ride waving down.
As they enjoyed themselves Bethany and I kept a close eye on the Shock Wave, the ride that Bret and Chris were on. After a few minutes, right above our heads, high in the sky, we saw Bret waving his heart out from the front car of the ride. We quickly got the babies and pointed up "Look at Daddy, look at Daddy!!!! Look Looook!" They clearly saw their Daddy waving from the Heavens and they all FREAKED. All four of them BAWLED their poor hearts out, Korbin being the most dramatic! Bethany and I scooped up a couple and tried to console them as fast as we could while onlookers watched and giggled at the chaos we just walked ourselves into!

They continued to cry until Bret & Chris came walking back from the ride and when they did the quads RAN to greet them. Bethany and I went up immediately after the guys and waved from the top of the ride while the babies looked up. I was secretly hopeful to be greeted with huge hugs and tears of thankfulness that I was alive when I returned but was once again, let down. The guys said me being way up there didn't phase them a bit and Kylee only asked if Bethany was coming back once. Thanks yall. Carry you for 6 months looking like an albino acne covered beached whale and that's the love you show me? I love that you love your daddy, really I do, but come on!

Before heading out we enjoyed a funnel cake, ok 2 funnel cakes, and Baxlyn got the nerve to meet Bugs and few other characters for the first time. While the other 3 watched with tears from the wagon, Baxlyn and I walked over to take a few pics.

What Baxlyn does, Korbin will usually do. He decided he *cautiously* wanted to meet Tweety Bird too!

Next year I'll have to pull out these pictures of their bravery in hopes that they all will take a picture together with a character or two!

Stay tuned.. a trip to the zoo!