Starting summer!

Things have been a little nuts here over the past week. Lots to do! We've been busy, and frankly, they might not be tired but I'm pooped. I think part of it is that they encourage each other to be a little crazy.

We started last weekend by hitting up our first ever parade. They have a thing with loud noises and really don't like them (especially Parker) but he picked to pair up with Aunt Bo and did much better than I could have hoped for. They lasted the entire parade and the 40 minutes waiting for it to start on top of it. So very fun.It didn't hurt they were getting to pick up tootsie rolls and Dum Dums that were being thrown out.

This weekend we all about playing. It was hot, we played hard, munched all day, didn't take naps...and everyone in the house was ready for bed time by the end of the day. We played outside with the hose and our water table a few times. Love it! Of course, anytime Payton got wet, she insisted in stripping down to a diaper since we started out in play clothes.

We hit the park and were lucky enough to have it all to ourselves! Yay!

We made suncatchers..

Picked MaMaw up from the airport without any major issues and conquered an escalator for the first time :)

A long morning at the zoo wiped us out (even though there would be no napping outside of the car).

We even went to the cemetery to visit some special people. Someone had been up to see them and had left flowers, which they both, especially Payton, found fascinating. She said she wanted to go back and take flowers sometime.

Then the little thieves broke into MaMaws groceries on the way home from the store and stole her grapes.

Summer is off any running. If anyone ever wants to get together, let us know! They love to play and I'm always looking for good ways to have an early (hopefully with minimal wakeups) bedtime. :)

Play Ball!

We went to our very first ever baseball game Friday night. It was a night for Respite at Werner Park and we were going! Kristin, Sydney and Ava went with us.

                                                Payton's first ballpark hotdog! Yum!

                                      Payton checking out the park as they finish getting the field ready.

 Sydney and Parker watching the guys in outfield warm up. When they laid down on the ground to stretch, he yelled "oh no!" He thought they fell down. He was very interested in the ball they were throwing.

 All 4 of our little people. Our seats were a few rows in front of where they're standing, on the first base line.

 After a while they got antsy in the stands so we went to sit on the grassy hill in the outfield. They all split a treat - our first cotton candy experience.

 We told them all to lay together in the grass. I don't think Parker knew we wanted him to look at us for a picture. 

 Right after we sat down in the outfield, someone hit a homerun and it literally landed right next to us. Parker was in heaven. He played ball all night with the girls. As you can see, he's got a pretty good pitcher stance for being a little runt.

The ball game was awesome! I'm so hoping to be able to go back this summer for another game. Thank you Respite Care for another chance to try something new with them. It was a huge success! And thanks Kristin, Ava and Sydney for coming along to help man them, hot dogs, and the cotton candy.

Call me maybe

Do you know that song - Call Me Maybe? The babies love it. We have become the hit on the way home in afternoons when we drive home with the windows down and they are rocking out in the backseat everytime it comes on. And as soon as it's done they ask for "more mama".

When we got home, I found it on YouTube for them and caught them a little bit in the act.

Toddlers + cupakes =

Argh! Pirates!

Aunt Bo saw a flyer last  week and had an idea - why don't we go to the Bellevue Berry Farm and take the twins to the Pirate Festival. Saturday morning we packed up and went. The pirates were talking loud, as they do, so we had to warn them that Parker was "timid" because he just kept shaking his head and saying "too loud".

They got to swing in a pirate boat...

Payton and Uncle Dave went down the giant inflatable slide. It looks like they're going very fast here, but I promise it wasn't too fast...

We got to meet a fancy pony...

and Parker posed for his Wanted Poster...

 
and we made sure to stay cooled off with some lemonade since it was soooo hot!

Everyone was hungry when we were done so we did something else exciting - our first time to go inside a McDonald's. They did awesome! The happy meals were a hit and after being up way before the sun and then outside in the heat, they actually ate! The little man chowed down an entire cheese burger and his fries! Major accomplishment!

Onto more summer fun! If we're doing it right, we'll be needing a bath every night :)

The Latest

Things have been a little crazy so here's a few quick updates!

We met with the behavioral doctor at Boys Town to talk about their lack of sleeping. She gave us some things to do - including keeping a sleep diary, much later bedtimes, etc. Well, things haven't exactly worked as she had intended. Later bedtimes led to major behaviors (biting, hitting, throwing things) that they never do other wise, refusing to nap, meltdowns at mealtimes, etc. We go back to see her this week, so we'll let you know how it goes.

We had an appointment with Early Intervention this past Tuesday for speech therapy. Parker is coming on quick with the talking. So for now, we've officially been discharged from speech therapy. This means as of this moment we have been discharged from all therapies with Early Intervention. We can always call them if something else comes up, but for now we're done!

The babies have a new favorite game. It's a little like a modified version of Twister. We throw colored construction paper all over the floor. Then I call out a color and they run to each. They giggle the whole time! And it's great for them to work on their colors :)