The Little Things Thursdays: Installment #10

Happy Thursday!  Each week, we take some time to pause and reflect upon the little things that made our week special.  Here are some of our highlights:

1. Texas weather has been fickle as usual.  Just when I packed up all of our winter clothes, the warm spring weather vanished  and was exchanged with cool drizzle.  I could replace Puxatony Phil as predictor of spring weather.  Every time I flip the closets for spring, we have at least two more weeks of winter.   I should know this by now, but when we have temperatures exceeding 80 and it is sunshiny for over a week, I’m ready to ditch the sweaters and bring out the skirts.  Anyways, all this dreary weather kept us indoors and from taking our evening walks.  To change things up in the evening, we’ve been retreating upstairs to the playroom.  It is a bit of hassle to haul four babies upstairs for 30-45 minutes of playtime, but we all need the change of pace.  When we get up there, eight little eyes dart around exploring the new environment.  Plus, all the toys are novel since we don’t get up there often.  We primarily use the playroom as Nisey’s guest bedroom and to store toys that are too advanced for the babies.  However, the babies surprise me and seem to understand some of the toys I thought were too big for them.

Harper really enjoyed pushing the buttons on the sitting toys.  We learned, however, to turn all toys off before bed.  The toy in the background spooked George when it beckoned, "Play with me." in the night!

Harper really enjoys pushing the buttons on the sitting toys. We learned, however, to turn all toys OFF before bed. The toy in the background spooked George when it beckoned, “Play with me.” in the night!

2. We’ve been practicing sitting up with the support of Boppy pillows.  We since  rearranged our “Boppy Conventions” with a new perspective.  Harper and Rylin can almost sit independently, but they still need the safety net because they will topple and crash their noggins sometimes.  Sitting up opened new horizons for the babies and we did our first sitting up baths in pairs!  Harper and Rylin seemed to really enjoy being able to see their toys and splash the water.  Sydney lounged back in her seat like the old chair, but appeared relaxed.  Mason wasn’t keen on the new bath arrangement and protested with crocodile tears, but eventually warmed up to the idea.  I’m excited that bath time could take half as long by putting two in the tub at once!  I’m thinking it’s time to expand our bath toy collection as well.

Looks like someone missed the party.

Looks like someone missed the party.

The boys

The boys splish splashing!

The girls

Sydney’s hair is long enough down the center to make a Cupie Doll curl.  Rylin’s is close.

3. Shortly after starting spoon feeds, a friend suggested introducing Puffs since they dissolve and don’t require any chewing.  The first time I introduced Puffs, I ended up fishing one out of Sydney’s’ throat and didn’t want to try again.  That was until I noticed the babies chomping pureed food and picking smaller toys up.  When they were fussing for me to feed  them faster, I put a Puff in front of everyone and they did so much better.  Since they put everything in their mouths that is exactly what they did with the Puffs, but no coking.  It’s comical most of the time because they slobber so much the Puffs stick to their chubby little arms or hands and they can’t find them.  Other times they drop into the pocket of their bibs.

Harper is going in for the Puff!

Harper is going in for the Puff!

He did it!  Puff made it to the mouth.

He did it! Puff made it to the mouth.

Rylin scored a Puff too!

Rylin scored a Puff too!

4. My hairstylist recommended The Wet brush so I headed to Amazon and ordered a pink one.  I received it yesterday and gave it a whirl last night.  It worked perfectly.  It brushed through my wet mop without snagging or snarling and took a fraction of the time my old comb took.  Plus, it was a one step operation: just brush.  I used to spritz my hair with conditioner, use a wide tooth comb, then run a paddle brush over everything to smooth it out.  I’m all for consolidation so this brush is a winner in my book!

What little things filled your week?

hugs!

Amber

PS- Don’t forget to visit abeautifulruckus.com to see more little things!

Happy Easter!

This is what it looks to get everyone ready for a quadruplet picture.  You have to footballl hold two babies each.

This is what it looks  like to get everyone ready for a quadruplet picture. You have to football hold two babies each then settle into place.

We all wore our Sunday best for Easter and attempted to take a family picture.  Not a single one turned out good.  The babies were far more interested in teh koi pond in front of them than the camera.

We all wore our Sunday best for Easter and attempted to take a family picture. Not a single one turned out as I envisioned . The babies were far more interested in the koi pond in front of them than the camera. And, Stella thought she’d join us for the family picture.

George and I have a rather large extended family within the metroplex so we typically make rounds for major holidays.  Having four preemies meant taking extreme precautions to prevent illness so our plans drastically changed this year.  Instead of our usual hustle, we spent the holidays on a smaller scale.  It was nice having low key holidays, but we missed many of our extended family members and all the family traditions.

With lock down officially OVER, the babies enjoyed their first extended family holiday on Easter Sunday.  They’ve seen the majority of our extended family, but in smaller doses.  This was the first time they were around family in full force!  We made the same faux road trip to Nisey and Grandpa’s as we did on St. Patrick’s day.    Like before, we fed the babies first thing in the morning, put them down for their morning nap then headed out after their lunch.  The idea was they’d get at least one good nap before we left.  They did great with the travel aspect of it all.  I always ask the babies how they are doing during transit and usually it’s silence so I assume all are sleeping.   I’m relatively certain Rylin did not take a nap during the van ride this time.  She was even keel the first hour or so we were there then she snapped and transformed into Banshee Rylin.   We attempted to put her down for nap in a Pack ‘n’ Play, but she wasn’t having that.   Sydney and Harper probably would have napped, but Rylin stirred them up so much they refused nap too.  I settled with letting the three of them take lap naps.  A lap nap is far better than NO nap.   Mason was duped into taking a nap when Grandpa lulled him to sleep.

With so many doting relatives around, George and I escaped all afternoon and evening feeds and most diaper changes too. That was a nice change of pace. For the most part, the babies were the  center of attention most of the day. However, before lunch we gathered together to reflect upon the meaning of Easter and what brought us there.

1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…

I hope you had a Happy Easter this year and remembered why it is a day of celebration.

Mason tried to be a big boy who walks.

Mason tried to be a big boy who walks.

No one likes me, everybody hates me.  I think I'm gonna eat worms!

No one likes me, everybody hates me. I think I’m gonna eat worms!

With a house full of family members there was never a shortage of baby feeders.  I don't think George and I fed a single baby after 11 am!

With a house full of family members there was never a shortage of baby feeders. I don’t think George and I fed a single baby after 11 am!

The Super Seats helped the babies get a good view of what everyone else had for Easter lunch.

The Super Seats helped the babies get a good view of what everyone else had for Easter lunch.

Nisey thought Harper would enhance her Bunny centerpieces.

Nisey thought Harper would enhance her Bunny centerpieces.

Nisey and Grandpa gave the babies a huge Easter basket with bath toys, a bubble gun, books, and candy for the "big kids".

Nisey and Grandpa gave the babies a huge Easter basket with bath toys, a bubble gun, books, and candy for the “big kids”.

If you ever wonder where Harper got his good looks, I think it's from these two: Grandpa and GG Paw.

If you ever wonder where Harper got his good looks, I think it’s from these two: Grandpa and GG Paw.

Well, a nap in somone's arms is better than no nap at all.

Well, a nap in someone’s arms is better than no nap at all.

Harper seems to be quite the ladies man.  Grandma, Terri, and Nisey doted on him all together.

Harper seems to be quite the ladies man. Grandma, Terri, and Nisey doted on him all together.

The Super Seats are amazing for traveling spoon feeds!  Love them!

The Super Seats are ideal for traveling spoon feeds! Check out this feeding frenzy with four babies plus four feeders.

After a full day of festivities, we all setteld in for a Baby Einstein DVD.

After a full day of festivities, we all settled in for a Baby Einstein DVD.

I always marvel at the four car seats loaded after a day trip.  I often still wonder if they are all ours!

I always marvel at the four car seats loaded after a day trip. I often still wonder if they are all ours!

hugs!

Amber

They’re Finally Hitched!

Last spring George and I did the unthinkable. We sold our beloved Jeep and purchased a van in its place. I always said I would NEVER, EVER drive a van. Then God must have chuckled the day we discovered we were expecting quads and would consequently need a van. That being said, we actually really like our van. If you have to drive a van, this one is pretty nice. With the nifty seat warmer working it’s magic and the sound system going it’s rather easy to forget you are actually in a van. A few short weeks after buying the van, we made another purchase we never anticipated: a Runabout quad stroller. We stumbled across a fantastic deal and scarfed it up.

The only problem was that our new van wasn’t equipped with a trailer hitch, which is required by the stroller. Had we purchased the stroller first, a trailer hitch probably would have been in our negotiations with the dealer. We didn’t worry about it at the time knowing it would be months, even close to a year before we’d even use the stroller. We’ve been putting off adding a trailer hitch for months thinking it would be both time consuming and expensive. After a bit of research George learned it was a relatively simple DIY project with a kit from U Haul. Over spring break, George finally scrounged up enough spare time to install our trailer hitch so we could use the van and stroller for the first time! Check out our first family excursion with the Routan + Runabout:

I think the Routan and Runabout make a beautiful couple.  The babies seemed to enjoy the ride.

I think the Routan and Runabout make a beautiful couple. The babies seemed to enjoy the ride despite the dreary looking weather.

If you’ve been following our crazy journey for a while, you likely recall when we purchased the van, https://fourtoadore.com/2012/04/22/i-never-thought-i-would-say-this/ and then when we purchased our stroller https://fourtoadore.com/2012/04/30/lets-runabout/ That means you’ll also recall that the stroller loads on the van similar to a bicycle rack for transport of the stroller itself, not the quads. However, upon hearing that our stroller requires a trailer hitch, many people envisioned a stroller being pulled by the van with the hitch! I wrote about the first incident of that https://fourtoadore.com/2012/05/20/is-that-thing-safe/ shortly after it occurred because it was hilarious.

This is actually how the Runabout attaches to the trailer hitch.  We have plans to take the babies on outings such as the zoo, festivals, and more!

This is actually how the Runabout attaches to the trailer hitch. We have plans to take the babies on outing such as the zoo, festivals, and more!

However, if you are a new reader, I hope we GOTCHA!!!!! Happy April Fool’s Day.

Disclaimer: No babies were transported via the trailer hitch for this posting. Rather, the photo you see above was staged and the keys were not even in the van at the time of the photo.

Hugs!

Amber