Yesterday was the coldest day of the season by far. Temperatures were near freezing and the wind was gusting at about 65 miles per hour. It was bitter cold (at least by Texas standards). Yet, we opted to continue with our scheduled Christmas card photo session outdoors. I layered everyone up with thermal onsies and warm socks, but it was far cooler than I imagined. The quads fussed a little during the session, but did really well. Our photographer offered to take a few extra shots at her in-home studio in case the outdoor ones didn’t turn out. Everyone had noticeably red noses and hands. We gladly accepted this offer, just in case the others were bad. Naturally, everything took longer than we expected. Traffic was brutal, we got stuck behind a sluggish train, and situating indoor lighting took time. What we planned on taking one hour ended up running right past dinner time. After the photo shoot, everyone was getting hangry (hungry + angry) and there was nothing quick to serve at home. We stopped by our favorite Thai restaurant and crossed our fingers no one would expire.
While we awaited the arrival of our food, the quads played in the toddler area and befriended another little girl. When dinner was finally ready, everyone noshed happily and cleaned their plates.
As we were wrapping up our meal a couple approached us. The woman leaned in towards us and said, “Your family is beautiful!” I beamed a little bit. Then she said, “I just have to ask…” My heart sank. What was she going to ask??? What did she feel compelled to ask at our dinner table? Would it be one of the many curious, yet often intrusive questions we hear? Our skin is getting thicker, and we are accustomed to reactions we get while out in public, but rude commentary still stings. I held my breath just a bit as she continued, “Are they two sets of twins?” WHEW! Not bad. At all. I kindly replied, “Actually they are one set of quads.” Instead of prying or asking 20 more questions, the woman simply added, “Well, they are exceptionally well-behaved. You are doing a great job”. It made my day!
At home, we work very had to teach the quads appropriate behavior. They are two so they have plenty of tantrums, disobedience, and sibling scuffles. A lot of these things, actually. When we are away from home they do an exceptional job of demonstrating their good behavior. It makes the effort worthwhile, and it makes me proud of them.
About this time last year, we started working on family prayers at mealtime and before bed. By nature I’m not one to pray aloud; I prefer to pray silently in private manner. When I pray aloud, I’m typically most comfortable reciting memorized prayers because that’s what my family did.
When we began introducing prayer to the babies, I attempted to adopt my cousin’s child-friendly mealtime prayer. I remember her children reciting it when they were young and I’ve always loved it. Ironically, since it was similar to my parent’s mealtime prayer, but not exactly the same I had a hard time recalling it despite it’s simplicity. Plus, it proved a bit wordy for very young toddlers. A year ago, they were working on signing “thank you”. Yet, I wanted mealtime prayers and gratitude to be part of our family meals. I abandoned the memorized prayer (at least at temporarily) and simplified things significantly for all of us. Prayer needed to be something everyone could do and would become a ritual.
I started just teaching the quads to say, “Thank you, God for….”, and I’d model a few things to list (e.g. our food, family, home). A few months ago, they picked up this simple prayer starter and began generating their own lists of things they are thankful for. I think rice makes it atop their list at least once daily. Other items they are thankful for include anything and everything that makes up their world from caretakers to toys. One evening, I overheard Rylin independently reciting her own bedtime prayer and she said, “Thank you, God for…. a bobcat.” I was quite puzzled and couldn’t recall ever discussing bobcats. She repeated, “Thank you, God for Bobcat.” then added, “and Billie”, which put it into context. She was expressing gratitude for our dear family friends Billie and Bob whose nickname is “Bobcat”. Oh how she melted my heart! Hearing toddlers pray is music to my ears.
After the quads mastered the concept of list making items, I added a few other aspects to our prayer including, “Please God, help me….” (e.g. be generous, kind) and “Please, God help others….” (e.g. to heal, find comfort). While the concept of seeking help and guidance is a bit more abstract, it is a work in progress, and in time they’ll learn. Even though we are still learning to pray, making it a family ritual is mastered. If we are ever in a hurry, even at snack time, someone will proclaim, “But Mom, we forgot to pray!” There are also times we did pray and someone insists we forgot, so we pray again.
This particular evening, we forgot to pray before we began eating and Rylin kindly reminded us-
As I was scrolling through old pictures, I found snapshots of Rylin and Mason as infants with their hands clasped as if praying. Perhaps they’ve been working on this longer than I thought.
Does your family pray before meals? If so, do you have a memorized prayer? We will likely revisit a memorized mealtime prayer in the foreseeable future, but for now I’m enjoying our simple list-like prayers.
When Sydney was a mere two-pound preemie fighting for her life, a friend sent me this quote “Though she be but little, she is fierce!”- William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. How well it captures Sydney! She’s always been the smallest of the clan, but meek she is not. While I’m proud of her tenacity, she scares the fire out of me. She scales furniture in our home with the grace of a ballerina and befriends strangers wherever she goes. I’m certain she’d attempt to cuddle a deranged mutt wandering the street or scale the fence if she wanted something. It can be terrifying. Consequently, one of her goals for Early Childhood Intervention is to demonstrate caution around dangerous situations (e.g. hot stove, strangers, animals). I manage Sydney’s shenanigans in the house, but venturing outside the home poses clear dangers. In order to help her master this goal, I begrudgingly knew it would mean practice. Her trainer suggested we begin by checking the mail daily.
Insignificant as it seems, checking the mail was a monumental task for us. It meant single-handedly teaching four two-year olds how to walk together and also recognizing the dangers of the driveway and street. I began tackling this task with Sydney and one other child at a time. With just two, it was relatively simple. I’d hold each little hand as I led them to the mailbox, quickly snatch the mail and lead them back. Sometimes Sydney resisted hand holding and attempted to bolt, but with just two kids I could grab her easily.
After a week or so of that, it was time to go as a whole group. In time the quads started pairing off and holding each other’s hands as they followed me to the mailbox. Once we reached the mailbox, I taught them to wait within a square on the sidewalk while I retrieved the mail, giving a piece (usually the junk mail) to each child before I instructed them to bring it inside. Although the quads are doing a fabulous job at this new daily chore, I continue to remind them of the boundaries and show them where cars drive, ect. Occasionally, Sydney threatens to dart off, but she recognizes the street is a place for cars and not kids, which is a piece of mind.
Since we conquered mail checking, visiting the park was next on my agenda for helping Sydney master her goal. Together, George and I took the quads to our neighborhood playground in our stroller. As soon as we unloaded the four, they darted to the stairs and gave the toddler slides a try. In the beginning, I was concerned Sydney (or really anyone) would leave the toddler area and attempt the section for older kids. For the most part they all stayed within eye shot and didn’t push the boundaries too much. With a good bit of prompting, Sydney learned to safely manuever the equipment. At one point she tripped and fell off a small set of stairs and landed on her back (taking my breath away). Thankfully she didn’t have a scratch and quickly returned to playing. Going to the playground proved good for the whole family. We enjoyed a bit of fresh air, and were able to meet other children the same age that live nearby.
Much to my chagrin, George guided each of the quads to the “big” slide. While the others were slightly reticent, Sydney didn’t miss a beat.
After the neighborhood playground was a success, we later took the quads on a picnic to a city park without strollers. All four walked alongside us down a meandering path, over a bridge, and through a meadow to our chosen picnic spot. Once we settled, they all stayed on our quilt as we nibbled our dinner. It turned out to be a lovely Sunday afternoon.
We are finding that with continued practice getting out to enjoy the world is much easier. In fact, we’ve gone to several restaurants without using strollers. We can unload the quads from the van and they walk with us. It’s liberating!
When we were newlyweds, I was still in grad school while George was a novice in his field earning a small pay check. That meant our apartment was furnished solely with hand me down pieces and thrift store finds. There was no way we were going to let our nest LOOK like it was a thrift store, however. Instead, we learned how to bring new life to dated or worn pieces.
Our first piece of furniture to renovate was a dining room table and chairs. I can’t remember, but it may have cost $75 for all five pieces. The table was a classic, sturdy pedestal design with two leaves, but we didn’t care for the oak finish. The chairs had lovely lines, but the upholstery was tattered and the wood frames were rickety. After spying a Pottery Barn table far outside our budget, we used some paint, fresh fabric, and elbow grease to inspire our own design with our thrift store find. This project was the first of many similar re-designs we’d tackle.
After the purchase of our first house, our little Pottery Barn inspired table found a new spot in our dining room. It was later relocated to our breakfast nook in that house.
The buffet behind the table was also a furniture redo we eventually painted solid black. It is currently functioning as a changing table/ dresser for the boys nursery.
Countless meals were enjoyed around this table. However, when the quads were old enough for spoon feeds we needed something to accommodate them. Our solution was to build our own quad feeding table and store our original table in the attic. With four infants being spoon fed, the quad table proved ideal. I could easily reach each little birdie for meals, and clean up was a breeze.
This was the first time the quads ever sat in their table. At the time, they weren’t sitting independently so I used baby towels to pad them in.
Little dangling feet were always my favorite view of the quad table.
When we moved to our new house the quads were 22 months old and still getting good use out of the quad table. By that time, they were self feeding using utensils and spoon feeds were a thing of the past. Yet, we still used the table for instructional activities, story time, and art projects.
I could easily facilitate story time from the quad table. However, the quads do reasonably well sitting in child sized chairs or in a semi-circle on the floor too.
It was relatively simple to clean up after the messiest of art projects at the quad table.
When the quad table was originally built, we hoped to get two to three years use from it. However, as the quads grew it became clear that the quad table’s days were numbered. Harper grew dangerously close to the 30 pound weight limit for the quad table seats, and he seemed uncomfortable being crammed into it. Furthermore, the quad table became a point of stress during meals. All four of the quads could reach anything on the table, which meant they snatched food from each other (and our plates), poked each other with forks, and created numerous shenanigans. Clearly, the quad table served it’s purpose and it was time to move onto something new.
This photo was snapped the last night we used our beloved quad table. I’m amazed at how much they’ve grown.
Little dangling feet will always be my favorite view of the quad table.
In a pinch, we can pad the quads into adult sized chairs, but it’s not good for everyday use. It’s difficult for the quads to see and reach their food, let alone use utensils. Consequently, we piloted booster seats attached to our dining chairs. After trying several designs, we realized booster seats were even more problematic than the quad table. Booster seats nearly destroyed our dining chair’s upholstery and the quads could easily push their feet against the table and tip backwards. We considered serving their meals at a child sized table, but that would mean we couldn’t enjoy family dinners.
Even when it was only two of us, George and I ate the majority of our dinners at the table together. During family meals, we take time to converse with each other about the day’s events and future plans. We take time to enjoy the meal before us and reconnect as a family. Because family dinners are of the utmost importance to us, we needed another plan. After dining out, it occurred to us that restaurant high chairs would be perfect. They are easy to clean, sturdy, stackable, and include seat belts for safety. Once I found decent priced chairs, I ordered four from Amazon Prime.
Since the quads still bash the table with their utensils, there was NO way we were spending money to buy a new kitchen table. It was time for our very first dining table to return from storage. However, the black paint was nearly a decade old and looked haggard.
We are gradually changing our color palate in the new house from dark colors to lighter hues and accepting them in cheery colors such as butter cream, aqua, and orange. Our dark table was given a clean coat of aqua paint then distressed using a stain technique that could withstand quads. In fact, we used the same color and technique we used on our coffee table. We then painted the chairs white and distressed them with the same technique to give them an antique appearance. The dingy crimson wall was covered by a soft gray, which effectively brightened the room.
Our accessories didn’t look quite right with the new wall color, but cans of chrome and sunshine spray paint helped coordinate the look. And, a bold floral fabric on the chairs pulled the entire room together. Ta da!
We used glitzy letter decals to decorate each high chair. Since the seat belts are adjusted differently for each child, it helps us remember whose chair is whose. Plus, we move the chairs around and the quads enjoy searching for their new place at the table.
Aside from the fact that I adore the fresh new look of our breakfast nook, it is working beautifully. Since it’s a traditional family style table, we face each other for conversation. (I should record some of our dinner conversation with the quads…they are generally humorous). Also, the center of the table is outside the reach of little hands. This allows us to serve food from the table instead of getting up to refill little plates thousands of times. Seriously, with the quad table I’d get up every few seconds to bring more food to the quads and I rarely sat down to enjoy my meal. Another bonus of the new set up is we can move the high chairs to create space between kiddos or away from the table itself (this is handy if someone is starting to make a mess with their plate).
When we have company join us for dinner, we have room for a few extra chairs so we can all dine together. Nisey and Grandpa enjoyed dinner with us on Grandparent’s Day last Sunday, and there was ample room for the eight of us.
I was slightly sad to see our quad table go, but it has been re-homed to a family with infant quads. Knowing it will help feed another set of quads makes my heart happy. In fact, this family plans to pass it down to the next generation so who knows how many quad families may enjoy our table.
Where do you dine?
Hugs!
Amber
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I remember the days B. Q. (before quads) when I yearned to have a baby and had all sorts of notions about what motherhood would mean. At that time, I’d see mothers out and about with their littles in tow. It seemed that every woman I passed had an adorable “mini me” clad in Janie & Jack attire with a winning toothless grin. I fantasized about dressing my own baby up in itty bitty boutique outfits and having a chubby cheeked baby sitting in my shopping cart. Of course, my baby would never wail, smell rotten, or spit up. My baby would be perfect at all times. (A girl can dream, right?)
When our instant family of quads arrived, I found myself getting plenty of baby snuggles but I was also marooned. My fragile babies couldn’t go anywhere besides the doctor for a full year. When the days of lockdown ceased, George and I seized every opportunity to let the quads explore their world. We toted them to museums, stores, restaurants, and anywhere else we thought we could safely take them. Many of our field trips involved other friends and family members to help wrangle the tots. No matter where we ventured, it was always a four ring circus for many reasons. It wasn’t quite what I envisioned in my fantasy world.
Despite our many family adventures, I had never loaded the quads into the van myself and taken them out in public. Not once. I’ve taken them out alone, or in pairs myself. And, we’ve enjoyed many play dates on our own and taken trips to the neighborhood strip mall in our Runabout, but never a legit outing just the five of us.
The notion of being alone with four babies in a public place terrified me. Each time I considered a quick errand with them on my own, I immediately conjured up a laundry list of scenarios from downright embarrassing to horrific. I thought surely before they were two I’d have the courage to take them out own my own, just once, but I didn’t. Their second birthday came and went, but my fears paralyzed me still. Every last one of my quad mama pals took the plunge and flashed pictures of their success stories with a pile of kids in a cart somewhere. They could do it, why couldn’t I? Thursday morning I decided it was time. We were going to Target. After all, Target boasts triple seater carts, sells most anything my heart desires, and it puts people in a trance with its merchandising tactics.
Thursday morning after breakfast, I scribbled a quick list of items we needed and scrambled to get everyone dressed. Naturally, everyone was uncooperative. All four were whining without mercy. Entire bins of toys were dumped and strewn about the house creating landmines for me. Though I felt discouraged and now concerned about how they’d behave, I was also determined. As soon as everyone was sufficiently dressed, I hustled the crew to the van where I strapped everyone in. Much to my chagrin, everyone settled once the van was in motion and I revved up our best kid tune playlist. I thought, “Okay, we CAN do this!”, and made a beeline to Target.
Upon our arrival at Target, I circled the parking lot for THE cart. I spotted one in the back corner of the parking lot and parked beside it. I loaded Harper and Sydney in the harnessed seats, Mason in the main cart seat, and padded Rylin in the buggy with threats to her life should she stand. (Rylin is by far the most opinionated and strong-willed of the quads, but she’s also the most obedient of the pack, which makes her trustworthy with responsibility.)
I strutted into Target with my brood of smiling toddlers and it felt darn good. I know the layout of Target like the back of my hand so I started tackling each item on the list and making sure to skim end caps for clearance finds. Thirty minutes into the trip and all four were chipper and clearly enjoying the scenery. In fact, I hadn’t offered a single snack to anyone. I ponied on, grabbing more items off the list. At 45 minutes of Target time, all items on the list (plus a few extras) were loaded into our cart and I had four happy children. WOW!!!! At that point, it was time to check out, but they earned their individual baggies of Fruit Loops and loads of praise for their upstanding behavior. I checked out, loaded our goods into the van, and loaded four toddlers without incident. SUCCESS!!!!
It feels liberating to finally conquer my fears of taking the foursome out own my own, and I feel encouraged to try more things myself. I know every trip out won’t be so easy, (and it wouldn’t be if there were just one toddler either) but at least I know successful trips CAN and WILL happen.
One of my many fears about solo outings was handling the public Q & A sessions. I don’t mind answering questions, but being alone meant we needed to stay the course. Interestingly enough, at 10:00 am on a Thursday our local Target was primarily populated with moms that had full carts of kids. I saw at least five other moms with more than three kids. It seemed that most shoppers at that day and time were on a mission of their own, and didn’t have time to worry about my crew. Dare I say it was peaceful?
It wasn’t long before Rylin realized the diaper bag doubled as a pillow.
After our successful Target jaunt, I rewarded myself with a salted caramel frappuccino. I won a gift card at our last Moms of Multiples meeting and thought of no better occasion to enjoy it.
What fears do you need to conquer? What encouragement do you need?
As the quad’s second birthday approached I began to panic as I fell short on party ideas. Instead of choosing a theme and then searching for a coordinating invitation, I reversed the order. I perused invitations first, and found a simply adorable princesses and pirates birthday invitation for boy girl twins. I contacted the designer and she customized the invitation for us by adding an extra pirate and princess making it the perfect invitation for quadruplets. Once I had a theme and invitation chosen, I discovered a treasure trove of ideas on Pinterest fit for a princesses and pirates bash.
When we choose a party theme, George and I go all out. consequently, we both dressed the part. I made good use of an old bridesmaid dress my mom had in storage and accessorized it with my bridal tiara. George wore a few tatty items from his closet with a dew rag to create a pirate look. As part of their birthday gift, I ordered princess dresses (on clearance) from the Disney store for the girls and Carter’s pirate t-shirts for the boys.
After our guests were welcomed, each tot was given an empty bag personalized with their name, which would later be used to collect game prizes. Little pirates were to take a hat, sword, and eye patch while princesses were asked to select a dress and tiara. The pirate gear was all found in Target’s party section and doubled as party favors for the boys. The dresses were on loan, but the tiaras were also party favors. I used a shower curtain rod to display the selection of princess dresses available.
I used free clip art from Disney Junior to create labels for the loot bags. Unbeknownst to me, it’s a “Princesses and Pirates” summer on Disney Junior. This made finding party goods a cinch.I used more free clip art found online to create signage for directing pirates and princesses about what to get.
A few weeks before the party, it occurred to me that the quads weren’t familiar with pirates. To prepare them for the party, we watched The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. We also read Unexpected Treasures from our own bookshelf. Since I love literacy based crafts, we created a few pieces that served as party decor. Pirates don’t generally have the best reputation for being kind and such so I carefully selected books and videos where pirates were portrayed as having desirable virtues.
The quads had fun making their party decorations and still enjoy looking at their masterpieces.
My friend, Jen, kindly served as our party photographer. I have enough trouble being a hostess without also managing the camera. Besides, she’s a far more talented photographer than I! To make sure she’d be IN a picture and not just behind the lens, I snapped this one of her.
My sister and cousin, Brandi were both on board with our princess theme and donned old formal dresses to the party. Noteworthy…CiCi is wearing my junior prom dress, and I think she looked just like Belle.
Matt did his best to dress for the pirate theme with his red and white stripes with eye patch.
Each of our little pirate guests came sporting pirate themed threads, but our quad buddy, Harrison matched Harper. It was adorable!
Since the quads are two and all of their guests were two, I planned a few simple party games to keep everyone occupied. First, everyone tried their hand at fishing. My cousin, Ryan, sat behind a black curtain hung by a tension rod while the little ones tossed a fishing pole over the curtain. He then clipped goldfish crackers or shark fruit snacks to their line for the “big catch”.
I also set up a treasure dig in the yard. I filled a bucket with sand and littered it with gold doubloons (Dollar Tree plastic coins), gems, and rings. Each guest had a chance to riffle around to find a few treasures of their own.
My friend, Ashley, is talented in the baking department so I sequestered her help for creating cupcakes and cake pops. Both were a huge hit! By the end of the party one cake pop remained and I enjoyed savoring it with a glass of vino.
Ashley made cupcakes for each princess and captain, and the liners coordinated with their “assigned colors”.
Ashley hand-made each of the sweet treats served at the party. Her attention to detail is impeccable.
The boys easily made wishes and blew their candles out, but the girls were a bit more hesitant. Rylin used a straw to finally blow hers out, but Sydney got help from Mason.
This year the cake smashing was much more tidy. I love how each of the quads approached their cupcake their own way.
Harper willingly wore his eye patch for just long enough to capture a photo.
With four tykes, gift opening was a bit like a Christmas extravaganza. I was proud of how well the littlest guests as well as our four managed the scene. No one protested, tried to get into things they shouldn’t, or caused any trouble whatsoever.
The quads worked well together to open packages.
The quads are all able to tear through paper, but still need a bit of encouragement to realize there’s something beneath the pretty paper. With a little help from Captain Flynn Jen, Mason decorated his arm in Jake temporary tattoos as did his troupe of friends and siblings.
Little princesses chose from an assortment of princess tattoos. Sydney’s choice was none other than Cinderella.
What a scene!
The boys immediately made use of the pirate ship riding toy they received. This toy has been among our most popular toys since the party, and is often sought after.
Hugs!
Amber
I missed out on taking pictures of our food spread, but we served toddler favorites (PB & J, goldfish crackers, fruit, chicken nuggets, ect) and paired them with cute labels with fancy names for the Plain Jane fare. Here are all the printables I created using the free clip art from Disney Junior. Feel free to edit and use for your own Princesses & Pirates Party.
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It’s official, four two year olds now reside in our home! It’s unbelievable to me. Today we celebrated the momentous occasion with a Princesses and Pirates birthday bash. This mama is quad-exhausted so enjoy these snippets from today, and stay tuned for more.
Mason, Rylin, Harper, and Sydney on their second birthday.
Last week Rylin casually informed me that she’s not a baby. She very earnestly said, “Mommy, I not a baby.” as she furrowed her brow. It was like daggers to the heart, but she was right. The quads aren’t really babies anymore. They are transforming into children with opinions, thoughts, and voracious appetites for learning. They never cease to amaze me with bits of knowledge they absorb. I want to nurture this love of learning, and literacy in particular so I’ve begun literacy based crafts. It sounds fancy, but I promise it’s simple.
Part of our day is devoted to semi structured learning activities such as flash cards, songs, and story time. A few times a week we do a craft, most typically one I remember doing from my days in the classroom and sometimes a Pinterest find. Crafts in themselves are fantastic for toddlers; they can teach direction following, concepts (e.g. shapes, colors, counting, alphabet recognition), develop fine motor skills, and inspire creativity. However, children learn and recall new concepts best when associations are presented to them. Therefore, I’m now pairing our craft activities with literature (aka toddler appropriate board books). When I have a craft project I’d like to do, I peruse our library to find a book that coordinates with it (or a favorite book inspires a craft). I read the book to the quads as I present new vocabulary and concepts related to the book. As I read, I also ask many “wh” questions (e.g. who, what, when, where). Of course, these questions are all asked with toddlers in mind. For instance, I may say, “what animal is this?” I also try to help the quads draw connections between the book and their world by pointing out things in their environment or that they’ve seen other places. Following the story, we do the craft, which I hang in the quads new “art gallery” (aka a wall in their playroom). As days and weeks pass, I continue to ask the quads about their art and the corresponding story. When I re-read the story, I bring up their art and they proudly tell me about it.
Does it still seem complicated? I assure you, it’s not! Here are two recent crafts:
1. Coffee Filter Butterflies
I remembered doing this craft while working in a daycare and found two books from our shelf related to butterflies. We happened to have The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer so I chose those for our literature. Any book related to caterpillars or insects would suffice.
“Wh” Questions: What did the caterpillar eat? What did the caterpillar turn into? Where did the caterpillar sleep?
First, the quads scribbled on their coffee filters with maker. I used Sharpie to write their names.
I sprayed the coffee filters with water to make the marker run, creating a watercolor effect. After the filters were dry, I pinched the middles together and wrapped them with pipe cleaners to create our butterflies.
I love how every time I ask the quads what a butterfly used to be they say, “caterpillar”.
2. Muddy Car Tracks
One of the quad’s favorite books is Little Blue Truck. Again, it reminded me of working in day care and painting with car wheels. I read the book as well as another related to cars and spent time discussing mud. It was fitting that it was a rainy day so we peered out the window and watched the raindrops create mud in the yard. Afterwards, I explained that my plate was covered in mud (brown tempera paint), and our toy cars got stuck. The quads then had a great time dislodging the cars and creating muddy tracks on construction paper. It’s been at least three weeks since we did this project, and the quads still talk about their muddy tracks, and tires getting stuck.
Vocabulary introduced: mud, stuck, tracks, tires
“Wh” Questions: What does blue truck say? Who helped push the trucks? Where were the trucks stuck?
For this project we used: construction paper, tape, brown tempera paint, and Little People cars.
I taped the edges of the paper down to keep it in place as they rolled cars.
This is our new art gallery wall in the playroom. I used the frames from our old study, and found another to expand it. The quads LOVE seeing their materpieces and telling about them. It probably doesn’t hurt that I constantly ask them to talk about their art.
Anytime we do a craft, I try to keep it simple using basic supplies we already have, most of which I collected from the Dollar Tree. There’s no need to make things complex or expensive for toddlers.
What is your favorite toddler craft and/ or book? Any we should try?
Hugs,
Amber
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This weekend, we headed to Nisey and Poppa’s for a family dinner. In the past, we brought our Super Seats for mealtime away from home. It was easy to line the babies up for a spoon feed, or to pull them right up to the dining room table for finger feeding.
However, we recently parted ways with our beloved seats as the quads were getting too big for them, and I was tired of storing them. I refuse to spend money on any more booster seats because I know they would be short lived.
Instead, we improvised at dinner using an old trick I learned from my cousin, Jennifer. We boosted each child with a floor cushion. We then tied the apron strings around the back of the chairs to keep each child seated. This little tip worked especially well since I forgot to put bibs in the diaper bag. The aprons covered the majority of the quad’s clothing and laps. For some reason, by parents happen to keep four aprons, which was perfect.
Phone books would have worked well for boosting, but Nisey and Poppa only had one remaining. I think the internet made phone books nearly obsolete.
The quads didn’t stay at the table as long as they have in booster chairs or the quad table, but our improvised seats enabled them to self feed and for the adults to enjoy dinner. A win-win in my book! After dinner, I just shook the crumbs off the aprons and hung them back in the pantry for next time.
Hugs!
Amber
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As soon as the temperatures rose to the 90’s we started enjoying water play in the back yard almost daily. Between our water table and inflatable pools, the quads have passed many hours of splishing and splashing. However, Fourth of July weekend marked their first time in a full sized pool since last summer. When they were little babies, we bought Swim Ways inflatable baby floats, which worked great for water exposure.
This summer, the quads would have fit easily into their old floats, but as busy toddlers, they would have been irritated by the constraints of a float. Instead, I decided we’d try the Puddle Jumpers, which were given to us by the Crisanti Quads earlier this year. Before heading to the pool, I attempted to get the quads to wear their Puddle Jumpers around the house, but only Harper agreed to this idea. The others fought me tooth and nail so I wasn’t expecting much at the pool. In fact, I braced myself to sideline at least three toddlers at the pool if necessary.
On July Fourth, we visited our family friends, the Turner’s. Since they have a beautiful pool, it was time for the maiden voyage with the Puddle Jumpers. Although they initially resisted, each of the quads eventually donned a Puddle Jumper. The next problem…getting them to wear them in the water. Initially all four were extremely timid and hesitant to touch the water. After all, the water was cool in comparison to the Texas heat and they were wearing foreign devices. Each of the quads was paired with an adult who coaxed them into the water and showed them how to splash and blow bubbles. Of the quads, Sydney proved herself to be brave. She happily jumped to us, back floated, and kicked her legs about. In time, the others enjoyed themselves and worked up hearty appetites for our barbecue.
They had a second opportunity to use Puddle Jumpers at Grandaddy’s house later in the weekend. This time, all four were more eager to enjoy the pool. To my surprise, they all seemed to appreciate the goggles I scored at the Dollar Tree earlier in the week. Keeping their eyes free of water seemed to really help ease them into the pool. Even with a healthy fear of the water, all four enjoyed lots of jumping and kicking around the pool.
Even with the Puddle Jumpers, we watched the quads like hawks since they could easily face forward in the water. This year we opted out of swimming lessons since we’d probably only visit a large pool a handful of times at best, and the quads wouldn’t be able to recall skills learned next year. When they are old enough to participate in a class and develop salient memories, we will absolutely enroll them in swim lessons. Swimming is a critical life skill. In the meantime, we are fans of Puddle Jumpers!
Just for fun, George and I took snapshots of the quads on the Fourth of July using our color accent feature on the camera.
I realize it’s not kosher to allow an American flag to touch the ground…but with four almost two-year olds around, they may have grazed the ground a bit. Please forgive us.
Rylin
Harper
Sydney
Mason
How old were you when you learned how to swim? Who taught you?
hugs!
Amber
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would be perfect. They are easy to clean, sturdy, stackable, and include seat belts for safety. Once I found decent priced chairs, I ordered four from Amazon Prime.
Four to Adore 