Multiples

2013 in review

Amber 44 Comments

Every year, The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepare an annual blog report, which I find very interesting.

Here’s this year’s report:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 160,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 7 days for that many people to see it.

In 2013, there were 134 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 234 posts.

The busiest day of the year was July 7th with 1,561 views. The most popular post that day was What TO Say to Multiples. That one apparently stirred up some action!

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Attractions in 2013

24-28 weeks

These are the posts that got the most views in 2013.

How did they find you?

The top referring sites in 2013 were:

  1. bellsandkilts.blogspot.com
  2. facebook.com
  3. thekingsquad.blogspot.com
  4. thelittlestlesnaus.blogspot.com
  5. pinterest.com

Some visitors came searching, mostly for four to adore, fourtoadore, 4 more to adore, quintuplets belly, and beta base.

Where did they come from?

133 countries in all!

Most visitors came from The United States. Canada & Australia were not far behind.

Who were they?

Your most commented on post in 2013 was What TO Say to Multiples

These were your 5 most active commenters:

  •  Amber 53 comments
  •  Becky 39 comments
  • Jack Wilcox 28 comments
  • Krista 25 comments
  •  Jane 23 comments

Pretty neat, huh?  Thank you for sharing this wild ride with us and don’t forget to stop by in 2014!

I regularly check up on our stats with the WordPress app to see where our visitors are from and what terms are used in search engines.  I’m often amazed at how much traffic we generate, and even with our stats I’m not sure exactly where our readers are located.  For example, whether you live in Fargo, North Dakota or Tampa, Florida it shows up at “United States”.  If you have a few seconds to spare, I’d love to know:

1. Where are you from? (Perhaps you are from a faraway land, or maybe just around the corner.  Either way, I’d love to know!)

2. How did you find us? (Did you search for something on Google? Are you a friend of a friend or a relative twice removed?)

hugs!

Amber

P.S. Amber & Krista, Thank you for sharing some blog love with me!  You two are my among my top referrers and commenters.

Four Christmases

Amber 6 Comments

The Christmas season has always been one of my favorite times of year, largely because it’s the time when we carve out time to spend with our extended family.  With the exception of last year (baby lock down), George and I have paraded from one gathering to another, often within a day’s time in order to make several Christmases happen.  George and I both recall a painful year when we stopped by THREE homes in a single day!  While we enjoy all of our family togetherness, that was a bit much.  Thankfully, our family has become more flexible with celebration dates and we spread our four Christmases over a week’s time.  It was far more relaxing that way and we never felt rushed to leave one home to arrive at the next.  Not to mention the fact, the notion of toting quadruplet toddlers to more than one place in a day is rather daunting.

#1 Saturday, December 21st

We kicked off our Four Christmas Extravaganza at our house with my parents, sister, and her boyfriend.  Typically, we do this at my parent’s house.  However, we changed venue so the adults could enjoy time together sans quads after 8:00 pm.  Our plan worked seamlessly.  When the quads were awake, we enjoyed non-stop gift opening-snack munching action.  Sydney maintained her reputation for being a pepper belly when she begged for spicy queso and gobbled it up repeatedly.  The other three seemed to be bottomless pits for all things sweet.  Once the clock struck eight, the quaddlers drifted off to sleep as the rest of us leisurely opened gifts.

Grandpa made the grave mistake of opening a snack in the den where the quads could see him. He attracted four beggars in seconds.

Grandpa made the grave mistake of opening a snack in the den where the quads could see him. He attracted four beggars in seconds.  If you look carefully, you may notice Lily on the far right.  The dogs weren’t going to miss an opportunity for snacks.

The quads found the value of teamwork when opening a train set from Aunt CiCi. The wrapping paper and ribbon proved to be the most entertaining part of the gift.

The quads found the value of teamwork when opening a train set from Aunt CiCi. The wrapping paper and ribbon proved to be the most entertaining part of the gift.  They became experts and paper ripping, but rarely paid attention to the treasure beneath.  I told everyone they would have been pleased with empty boxes, that’s toddlers for you!

Of the many snapshots of our whole family, I thought this one was the best. I am seemingly ignoring the chaos behind and around me to make sure my smile was just right.

Of the many snapshots of our whole family, I thought this one was the best.  Mom, Cici, and I are all seemingly ignoring the quad chaos to make sure we looked just right.

#2 Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, George’s family joined us at our house.  This time, we digressed from the usual Christmas dinner fare (e.g. ham, green bean casserole, rolls…) and served breakfast for dinner.  George made Belgium waffles, bacon, and scrambled eggs while I served up fresh fruit with marshmallow dip and hash brown casserole.  It may become our new family tradition because there were NO leftovers.   This was a meal even the quadlets devoured.

We unearthed our tripod from the back of our closet in order to take a group photo. My camera took exactly one photo before the battery died. At least we got this one!

We unearthed our tripod from the back of our closet in order to take a group photo. My camera took exactly one photo before the battery died. At least we got this one!

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After my camera battery died, I snapped a couple of photos from my phone before it’s battery life also ended. Great planning on my part.

#3 Christmas Day

On Christmas Day, we traveled to my parent’s house to be with my Dad’s family.  The quadruplets seemed to steal the show and enjoyed spending time with their older cousins, especially the twins and their older sister.  I was pleased the quads had a second opportunity to wear their Christmas outfits from Nisey and Grandpa.

Upon our arrival, the quads enjoyed a bit of Shrek while we unloaded the van. Their love seat time lasted approximately two minutes. GG got a snuggle with Mason while GG Paw had Harper.

Upon our arrival, the quads enjoyed a bit of Shrek while we unloaded the van. Their love seat time lasted approximately two minutes.
GG got a snuggle with Mason while GG Paw had Harper.

The older twin boys proved to be great at entertaining our quad boys while big cousin, Kenzie enjoyed time with the girls.

The older twin boys proved to be great at entertaining our quad boys while big cousin, Kenzie enjoyed time with the girls.

We got a little creative with the quads mealtime arrangement and made good use of our old Super Seat trays. The babies found these old toys to be exciting again.

We got a little creative with the quads mealtime arrangement and made good use of our old Super Seat trays. The babies found these old toys to be exciting again.

#4 December 28th

We rounded up our Four Christmas Extravaganza at my Uncle Dale and Aunt Terri’s house with my mom’s family.  There, we maintained our family tradition of a Tex Mex meal followed gift opening mayhem and a smorgasbord of family favorite desserts.  I think we have a new favorite sweet treat that I’ll make next year- Chocolate Mint Bark.  If you like Thin Mints, this is for you!

All of the cousins had a blast playing in the unseasonably warm weather outdoors just before dinner. Seth and Ryan's batting cage was ideal for corralling quadruplets!

All of the cousins had a blast playing in the unseasonably warm weather outdoors just before dinner. Seth and Ryan’s batting cage was ideal for corralling quadruplets!

My uncle, Dale, thought it would be a nice change to have our entire 27 person clan eating Christmas dinner at one table. He and my Aunt Terri made his vision come to fruition in their garage with several banquet tables and many, many chairs. There was even space for the quads to join us.

Uncle thought it would be a nice change to have our entire 27 person clan eating Christmas dinner at one table. He and my Aunt Terri made his vision come to fruition in their garage with several banquet tables and many, many chairs. There was even space for the quads to join us.

Unbelievably, Harper was caught snuggling Uncle Dale! Sydney begged for guacamole and queso from Grandma, and big cousin Taylor gave each of the quads some quality individual time.

Unbelievably, Harper was caught snuggling Uncle Dale!  Seriously, Harper is generally as snugly as a crocodile.
Sydney begged for guacamole and queso from Grandma, and big cousin Taylor gave each of the quads some quality individual time.

Clearly, if you want to be in a photo, it's wise to grab a baby!

Clearly, if you want to be in a photo, it’s wise to grab a baby!

I must admit, celebrating Four Christmases is absolutely exhausting, and I believe we may still be in recovery.  However, we feel fortunate to have so many relatives to visit.  Time with them is precious and fleeting.  How did you spend the holidays this year?

Hugs!

Amber

When the Cat’s Away…

Amber 4 Comments

About a month ago Dropcam contacted me about their “Life’s Mysteries” campaign.  They invited bloggers to share stories of times when something went awry,  but no one’s certain exactly what happened.   With four toddlers in our house, missed moments occur several times per day.  We have enough of them that I compile pictures for a semi regular series called “Shawver Shenanigans”.  If you’ve been keeping up with us for a while, you may recall the great corn starch incident.  It was a doozie!  I think there are still traces of cornstarch in our kitchen, and that’s been months.  Last week, we had a similar doozie during Icemagedon.  In an effort to entertain four busy toddlers, I introduced many new activities, and opened up typically off-limits areas of the house since novelty is always entertaining.

On this particular day, I set up our Tinkerbell PlayHut and a few tunnels in our dining room/ foyer.  It was going fabulously until I left the room to change Rylin’s diaper, leaving three toddlers unsupervised.  I thought I did a great job baby proofing this area.  I was proven wrong.  Upon my return, I realized the trio discovered a box of Sprite cans hidden underneath our hutch, and naturally began exploring them.

Suspect #3

Sydney had the empty box.

Suspect #2

Harper gnawed on a can.

Suspect #4

Mason pranced around with his loot.

Rylin did not wait for an invitation to play along.  She gleefully snatched a can for herself. Judging by the pictures, it looks like she found a new best pal.

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When my Dad called to chat, I figured Sprite cans were safe enough so I let everyone continue playing.  That was, until I heard a distinctive sound- the one of a shaken carbonated beverage exploding.  Apparently someone dropped, or threw their can.  Naturally, this lead to a puncture on the can and an eruption of Sprite under our dining table.  I ferociously grabbed the dented can, but it was too late.  We already had a flood and eight little feet traipsing through it, tracking icky sticky all over the floor.

Here's the evidence collected: three Sprite cans with various signs of damage two sets of wet, sticky foot prints, one on either side of the dining table

Here’s the evidence collected:
three Sprite cans with various signs of damage
two sets of wet, sticky foot prints, one on either side of the dining table

Do you spy the wet foot prints trailing Mason?

Do you spy the wet foot prints trailing Mason?

Rylin thought the splatter fest was great fun.

Rylin thought the splatter fest was great fun.

Mason was crushed when his Sprite can shenanigans came to a screeching halt.

Mason was crushed when his Sprite can shenanigans came to a screeching halt.  He seemingly caught the brunt of the spray and was soaked.

I don’t believe we will explore soda cans for quite sometime, but I assure you that this is not the final Shawver Shenanigan.  There are many, many more to come.  In this episode of Shawver Shenanigans, we had not one but two incidents 1. exploration of forbidden Sprite cans 2. a Sprite explosion.  Give the pictorial evidence, who do you suspect caused each of these incidents?

Hugs!

Amber

P.S. I was in no way compensated by Dropcam for the writing of this post. I simply enjoy writing and a good challenge so I had fun in recanting our latest incident.  I hope you enjoyed reading.

We May Starve

Amber 29 Comments

It’s no surprise, Texans do not bode well during winter storms. As soon as a meteorologist says there’s a possibility of a winter storm, we make a mad dash to the local supermarket to stock up on supplies.  When I say “supplies”, I really mean hibernation food.  Store shelves are quickly void of carbohydrates, junk food,  hot chocolate, and marshmallows.  We truly fear starvation during the day, or two we are “snowed in”.  I am certain that people dwelling in cold climates where snow is typical get a good laugh out of watching us panic over a few icy days, but we just can’t help it.  Our towns literally shut down because the DMV is ill prepared to treat roads, and it’s generally ice not snow so roads are impassable for the most part.  In a typical year, we have one or two wintry storms.

The first day of snow ice we are all giddy and full of excitement.  Children and their parents zestfully play in the white stuff, even if it’s ice.  We make pathetic snowmen if we can, sit by the fire, watch movies, and sip hot beverages.  By the second day, our excitement wanes, but we tolerate the storm.  Once a third day rolls around, cabin fever sets in and we start venturing out in any way possible.  We creep to our local doughnut shops, or anywhere we can travel safely.  Today was day three of what our meteorologists are calling “Icemagedon” and goodness did cabin fever strike here!  Unlike everyone else in the greater metro area, we did not go shopping just before the storm.  Our freezer and pantry contain plenty of food (George is a closet doomsday prepper) , but there are few desirable options and no “hibernation food”.  That meant we had to trek to our local supermarket to find out what remained for us.  We had no plans of taking the quads out in our van, but our Runabout proved handy for off-roading on ice.  We bundled the quads in their “Texas snow suits” with extra fleece blankies and George wore cleats to push it up hill.  We managed to get to the store within about 15 minutes so no one froze.  Apparently our neighbors had the same idea because it was packed!  The parking lot was full.

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Before entering the store, George and I planned to pick up a few Redbox movies, and we even reserved our choices.  Just after we pushed the Runabout under the awning covering the kiosk, we heard a loud rumble.  Apparently the ice began to melt, creating an avalanche.  It was a close call, people!  Needless to say, we abandoned our movie plans in order to get to safety.

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Rylin began her afternoon nap a little prematurely. Cabin fever is exhausting!

Rylin began her afternoon nap a little prematurely. Cabin fever is exhausting!

Our list wasn’t terribly long, and we scored everything on it except bread.  There was not a single loaf of bread, bananas, or berries.  Apparently those delivery trucks didn’t make it in the storm.  Otherwise, we managed to collect our needed items to make chili, rice crispy treats, fried apples, and hashbrown casserole.  The quads garnered more attention than usual in their attire, and because everyone was nursing a case of cabin fever.  It was as if all of the shoppers had not seen another human being in years.   Our trip home went smoothly, and the quads are currently giving us a wonderful early Christmas gift- a good, long nap from ALL four.

What is your favorite way to treat cabin fever?

hugs,

Amber

Teaching Toddlers Thankfulness

Amber 5 Comments

George and I have been working more on teaching our children virtues recently.  As they communicate better and interact with each other more, being kind, patient, generous, and gracious are increasingly important.  My heart melted when Mason showed a generous heart at dinner, sharing his milk with Harper.

I really hadn’t considered how to teach them thankfulness until I read a post written by my cousin at Confessions of a Pastor’s Family.  Showing gratitude is important year round, but this time of year is a nice time to spend a little more time devoted to it.  I loved how her family worked together to create a “Thankful Tree” where each family member wrote some of the things they are thankful for on the leaves.  While the quads aren’t old enough to verbalize what exactly they appreciate, I combined our usual baby art with thankfulness.  I love creating art using their hands and feet because it preserves their size at various stages of life.  This year, we did the cliché hand and foot turkey.  On each of the little fingers, I wrote things I believe they are thankful for (e.g. Wubbanubs, Elmo, shape sorters) as well as things we are thankful for as a family (e.g. our doctors, family, friends).  In the future, I think it will be fun to see what they liked as babies and how they evolve into appreciating other things.

I realized after I snapped this pictures, I was short one item for Harper so I added "baby gates". I have now idea how we'd function without them!

I realized after I snapped this pictures, I was short one item for Mason’s pinkie so I added “baby gates”. I have now idea how we’d function without them!

Our turkeys are hanging in the art gallery frame in our playroom. I think they may live their beyond Thanksgiving as a reminder of the very blessings in our life- great and small.

Our turkeys are hanging in the art gallery frame in our playroom. I think they may live their beyond Thanksgiving as a reminder of the very blessings in our life- great and small.

While I had fun reflecting upon what our family is thankful for, that didn’t really teach the quads much this year.  I took note from Jennifer and added the sign, “thank you” to our repertoire.  They already mastered basic requests and “please” so “thank you” was a logical next step.  They haven’t mastered, “thank you”, but they certainly understand the concept.  I also pulled a small collection of books about being thankful from our library, reading them daily.   Since the babies were in the NICU, I have always prayed with them.  I’m not typically a “pray aloud” person, but in order to teach babies and children prayer, you really have to pray aloud.  Each night as I tuck each one into bed, I pray over them thanking Jesus for our day and our blessings, then I extend our prayer to others.  Even though I’ve been praying with the babies their entire life, we are just beginning a mealtime prayer.  I have always liked the one Jennifer’s family says so we are adopting her version as a mealtime prayer.  It is very close to the one my father’s family says, but is a little more child-friendly.

Come Lord Jesus be our guest.

Let this food to us be blessed.

Make us mindful for the needs of others, we ask in your name.

Amen.

Jennifer suggested a few books about thankfulness, but I found these right on our own bookshelf. The babies favorite is, Thank God for Puppies!

Jennifer suggested a few books about thankfulness, but I found these right on our own bookshelf. The babies favorite is, “Thank You, God, for Puppies!”

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Family is always something we are thankful for, especially when raising quadruplets. We celebrated Thanksgiving with George's extended family Sunday. His 90 year old great aunts really seemed to enjoy meeting the newest multiples in the family. We missed family gatherings last year due to lock down and it's nice being with extended family again.

Family is always something we are thankful for, especially when raising quadruplets. We celebrated Thanksgiving with George’s extended family Sunday. We missed family gatherings last year due to lock down and it’s nice being with extended family again.  His 90 year old twin great aunts really seemed to enjoy meeting the newest multiples in the family.

Our family has been blessed in many ways, and it is important that we teach our children beginning right now to be thankful for what we are given each day.  What are you thankful for?

hugs!

 

Amber

Happy Friday!

Amber 5 Comments

I have all sorts of things I want to write about and plenty of stories to share, but at the moment I’m totally exhausted.  It took forever to capture the quads dance moves, but I got a few clips to create a montage.   Apparently the soulful sounds of J. D. McPherson really get them jazzed up and inspire the best dance moves, and it doesn’t hurt to ask them for “their moves”.  I hope it brightens your Friday.

hugs!

Amber

World Prematurity Day

Amber 4 Comments

Today is World Prematurity Day-

Each year approximately 15 million babies are born prematurely worldwide, with about 500,000 in the United States alone.  With each passing day, we are grateful for the health of our four babies who were born nine weeks too soon.   I am grateful for the medical care they received prior to birth, our delivery team, our NICU care team, and for the therapists who have helped them thrive since coming home.   Each night, I kiss our children and hug them in gratitude for them moments we are given, and try my best not to take them for granted even on the most trying days.  I will never forget the days we spent in the NICU, and each night I pray for families currently facing a NICU stay that they find solace and strength.

These images tell just a bit of our NICU stay.

Wires and tubes became part of our normal while in the NICU.

Wires and tubes became part of our normal while in the NICU.

Unlike typical mothers, I did not get to hold my babies for well over a week. This was the moment I held Mason for the first time.

Unlike typical mothers, I did not get to hold my babies for well over a week. This was the moment I held Mason for the first time.

After birth, our babies were each fitted with a CPAP and bonnet to help them breathe. I did not know what my babies looked like for well over a week.

After birth, our babies were each fitted with a CPAP and bonnet to help them breathe. I did not know what my babies looked like for well over a week.

Our eyes adjusted to days of blue lights in our NICU room, helping to remove the billi from our babies' systems.

Our eyes adjusted to days of blue lights in our NICU room, helping to remove the billi from our babies’ systems.

The first time we could hold Sydney, I feared breaking her because she was so tiny and fragile.

The first time we could hold Sydney, I feared breaking her because she was so tiny and fragile.

In the days I yearned to hold my babies, all I could do to comfort them was hold their tiny bodies through portholes in their incubators.

In the days I yearned to hold my babies, all I could do to comfort them was hold their tiny bodies through portholes in their incubators.

It still makes me shudder recalling the pain Sydney endured as multiples nurses attempted to set a hair thin IV. At one point, her IV could only be placed through her forehead.

It still makes me shudder recalling the pain Sydney endured as multiples nurses attempted to set a hair thin IV. At one point, her IV could only be placed through her forehead.

 

hugs,

 

Amber

A Generous Heart

Amber 11 Comments

Several months ago, we began teaching the babies a few functional signs starting with “more”.  We did this because they clearly desired to communicate, but lacked the ability to produce meaningful speech.  They grasped “more” quickly because they were already clapping, and we simply paired an existing behavior with a food reward.  Since then, we’ve added more signs particularly for mealtime.  Otherwise, they demand food and drink or refuse in a boisterous way.  We value family mealtime and want our children to be polite at our table and when they are visitors elsewhere.

The second sign they mastered was, “please” but they signed “please” often and it was difficult to discern what they wanted.  A lot of the time they were requesting a drink but lacked means to say that so we taught them to sign “drink”.  At that point, I removed our sippy cup straps that I so treasured.  The sippy cup straps were sometimes a thread of my sanity.  They absolutely love tossing their cups as far as possible, and without straps I found myself hunching over countless times to fetch cups.  However, if their cups were strapped to their seats and always within reach, they would never need to request a drink.  I began setting their cups just out of reach, waiting for them to sign “drink”.  Then, I watched for them to finish drinking and immediately putting it out of reach again.  Every now and then, I am not quite quick enough before they heave a cup.  This led to a natural consequence, “bye bye cup”.  When someone tosses his or her cup, I say, “bye, bye cup” and let them watch me put it in the refrigerator.  Don’t worry, they won’t be dehydrated-  I let them have more of their drink after everyone finished eating.  They’ve caught onto this routine and sometimes say “bye bye” when a sibling tossed a cup.

Aside from working tirelessly to promote good communication skills, we are teaching virtues on toddler scale.  One of the most salient right now is sharing.  It doesn’t matter how many of a given toy we have, they generally want the same ONE.  We once had a scuffle over a blue Lego while we sat in a sea of blue Legos.  That’s just how toddlers are, but we have to teach them otherwise.  Thus, we are teaching them to “wait” and “share”.

I think my heart melted tonight as we enjoyed our family dinner.  After taking a quick swig of his milk, Harper thrust his cup over his shoulder onto the window seat.  As usual, I did the whole “bye bye cup” scene and Rylin mimicked me saying, “bye bye!”  Realizing his misstep, Harper pouted and signed for “more drink”.  I kindly told him that he had to wait because he threw it.

The window seat behind the quad table catches many things they toss, especially cups.

The window seat behind the quad table catches many things they toss, especially cups.

Then, Mason began signing, “drink, please.”  George handed Mason his cup, but Mason didn’t drink a single drop.  Instead, he handed his cup to Harper who guzzled milk happily.  While we wanted Harper to learn that he can’t have milk when he throws it, Mason’s generosity trumped the usual consequence.

Not long ago Mason was taunting Harper with a raisin, but tonight he shared instead.

Not long ago Mason was taunting Harper with a raisin, but tonight he shared instead.

A similar behavior occurred a few days ago at the table.  Harper began signing “more” for veggie sticks.  As soon as I handed him one, he passed it to Mason who passed it to Sydney.  When Mason’s hands were empty, he would sign “more, please” and repeat the whole chain.  I attempted to record what unfolded, but they naturally stopped when I hit record.  I’m so proud of how much they are learning lately, especially when they are kind to each other.

What melted your heart today?

Hugs!

Amber

Here are a few snippets of Rylin and Harper demonstrating some of the signs they know-

2 Days. 3 Parties. 4 Toddlers.

Amber 9 Comments

In just two days, we attended three parties with four toddlers.  WHEW!   I’m considering pitching this to the Olympic committee as a new sport.   In order to take the quadlets out for an evening, we literally begin prepping after breakfast. As soon as I finish cleaning breakfast, I check to make sure the diaper bag is stocked, and we have plenty of toys and snacks.  While the quads enjoy a morning catnap, George and I ferociously shower and get dressed.  After their nap, the quads are fed lunch and dressed. As I get them ready, George is responsible for loading the quad mobile.   Once everything is organized, we begin the loading process.  I start with the back row because it’s easier for me to slip back there while George works on the middle row.  It’s expected that after at least two are loaded, someone has a foul diaper that needs attention.  Once we start the loading process, the van is usually rolling down the driveway within about 10 minutes, and we are sweating profusely.  Are you exhausted yet???

This weekend turned out to be a rather busy one.  We were invited to a housewarming/ 30th birthday party and a shared children’s birthday party that began an hour later.  Both of these parties were across town, but fortunately within close proximity to each other so we decided to make both.  The next day, we had an early Thanksgiving dinner at my Grandmother’s house while my Aunt Susan visited from California.  I don’t think we’ve hit three parties in a single weekend since college.

Party #1: Housewarming/ 30th Birthday

I was impressed that Aunt CiCi captured a picture with everyone looking at the camera with eyes open!

I was impressed that Aunt CiCi captured a picture with everyone looking (well, mostly) at the camera with eyes open!

For once, I asked someone to take a picture, here I'm with my sister and Kaylie. I always feel a bit weird when I'm somewhere with the quads and I'm not holding or chasing one. I find myself doing head counts often.

For once, I asked someone to take a picture, here I’m with my sister and Kaylie. I always feel a bit weird when I’m somewhere with the quads and I’m not holding or chasing one. I find myself doing head counts often.

Terri loyally helps us care for the quads once a week while I go to work, and also when we have pediatrician appointments. She was so happy when they all gravitated towards her i in a sea of unfamiliar faces. They know their caregivers!

Terri loyally helps us care for the quads once a week while I go to work, and also when we have pediatrician appointments. She was so happy when they all gravitated towards her in a sea of unfamiliar faces. They know their caregivers!

Harper became Ed's little buddy, accompanying him everywhere.

Harper became Ed’s little buddy, accompanying him everywhere.

Whenever we go places with Nisey and Grandpa, Rylin seems to gravitate to Nisey who consoles her stranger danger. Somehow Rylin ended up greeting an unfamiliar guest AND she stayed with the guest for quite a while. When she spotted me, she gave the stink eye to her new found friend.

Whenever we go places with Nisey and Grandpa, Rylin seems to gravitate to Nisey who consoles her stranger danger. Somehow Rylin ended up greeting an unfamiliar guest AND she stayed with the guest for quite a while. When she spotted me, she gave the stink eye to her new-found friend.

Sydney always needs a little snuggle time with her "Big Me".

Sydney always needs a little snuggle time with her “Big Me”.

Party #2: Birthday Party

After the quads soaked up all the attention they could at the first party, we loaded the quad mobile and followed our GPS to the next stop, my cousin, Jennifer’s house.  There we were invited to celebrate the birthdays of her oldest two children.  They always throw the best parties and I was so excited we were able to attend.  They set up their backyard as a movie theater under the stars and screened Brave.  Keeping up with the theme, hot dogs, popcorn, and candy were served.

Jennifer's youngest child jumped right in with the quads and generously shared his toys.

Jennifer’s youngest child jumped right in with the quads and generously shared his toys.

Mason showed Grandpa how to tickle the ivories.

Mason showed Grandpa how to tickle the ivories.

My cousin Lindsay and her cousin Julie got a little snuggle with Harper man.

My cousin Lindsay and her cousin Julie got a little snuggle with Harper man.

Sydney loved the long hallways in the house and trotted off independently.

Sydney loved the long hallways in the house and trotted off independently.

Mamaw absolutely adored the boys, especially when Mason crawled into her lap.

Mamaw absolutely adored the boys, especially when Mason crawled into her lap.

The quads enjoyed watching the birthday boy and girl blowing out candles.

The quads enjoyed watching the birthday boy and girl blowing out candles.

Party #3

We rounded out the weekend with a traditional family Thanksgiving dinner/ family birthdays at Grandma’s house.  After dinner, the quads had a chance to run freely in the front yard.  They took turns noshing grass and chasing each other.

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Sydney enjoyed being the center of attention and was fascinated with Cousin Rita’s braid.

Mason always gravitates to the twins, especially Michael.

Mason always gravitates to the twins, especially Michael.

When Rylin saw birthday candles she began saying "hot" and blowing.

When Rylin saw birthday candles she began saying “hot” and blowing.

Nisey found Thanksgiving outfits for the girls, and the boy's Halloween shirts coordinated perfectly with them.

Nisey found Thanksgiving outfits for the girls, and the boy’s Halloween shirts coordinated perfectly with them.

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Our family with my grandparents.

Our family with my grandparents.

What did you do this weekend?

hugs,

Amber

Shawver Shenanigans {with bonus video}

Amber 8 Comments

Shawver Shenanigans

When I review the snapshots taken in a week’s time, it’s apparent that our lives are full of shenanigans, but that is what enriches us and makes life full of JOY!  It’s a clear reminder why God thought quadruplets were just right for our family.  Here are some of my favorite outtakes from the past few weeks-

1. For some reason, the quads are obsessed with sticking their fingers in other people’s mouths.  They think it’s hilarious.  They try to put their fingers in our mouths and constantly stick them in each others mouths.  It happens ALL DAY LONG.  While I was enjoying an Every Girl Gourmet cooking class, George was in charge of dinner and bedtime.  After dinner, Mason began taunting Harper with his fingers that were also grasping a raisin.  George let the camera roll to capture the insanity.  Needless to say, this didn’t end well for someone.  Here’s a video of the raisin taunting shenanigans-

2. One of our friends gave the quads a mini inflatable bounce house.  George and I were stoked to use it the first day we had beautiful fall weather.  George set it up in the backyard to use when the quads got up from nap.  Much to our dismay, they did not appreciate this new toy just yet.  Three of them screamed like banshees because of the sound the generator makes while keeping it inflated.  After my cousin’s kids demonstrated proper bouncing technique, Rylin warmed up to the concept and became a bouncing monkey.  I think they will enjoy it more in another month or two.

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3. As I’ve mentioned before, Harper loves nothing more than to crawl into baskets, boxes, or cabinets.  He recently began taking the drawer out of the kid’s kitchen set.  He gets frustrated when we don’t allow him to push it along our hardwood floors or if he cannot fit inside.

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4. We’ve used the same Tommee Tippee silicone bibs since we started spoon feeds at six months.  These bibs have been fantastic for catching dribbles, drops, and spits. I simply wash them under scalding hot water and hang them on a drying rack until the next meal.  As of the past few weeks, these bibs are no longer working for Sydney.  Somehow, she’s managing to get food between the bib and her clothing causing major stains.  She now wears a smock type bib with sleeves that covers her entire outfit.  Harper on the other hand, finds the old bibs perfect for catching food he doesn’t prefer.

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What’s shaking in your house?

hugs!

Amber