Seven Years My Boys

I just want to document today real quickly before I forget it.

Today Calvin and Clark turned seven years old. Celebration started last night with a Hungarian cake that Brian made for them. It was his favorite cake growing up and this year he made one for the first time, with his mom's expert, Hungarian help. We had cake with Gammy and Poppy and the boys opened their gift from us-- roller blades! They are naturals, though it's a good thing we bought the extra pads for their hands. They're used to ice hockey and having a bit more protection when they fall. They roller bladed until dark.

Dobos!

Eight little cakes

Teddy helps open

Tearing up the cul de sac

This morning Calvin woke up without his other front tooth! It fell out in the night and we still haven't found it.

For breakfast we had crepes on their request, with Nutella. Gammy brought over their favorite Izze-- blackberry-- and they had sausage. I stuck candles in their crepes and we sang happy birthday to them. They opened a little gift from Gammy-- a set of Minecraft handbooks. They are quite obsessed over the game, even though they're barely actually played it. They love to talk about it.

Crepes, sausage, Izze, and Minecraft books

Teddy and I went to school with them and I lead the community art project that we have once a month. This month we did little projects with patterned paper and learned about Eric Carle. Ted and I stayed for lunch and the first part of recess.

Art!

Cafeteria lunch

All the girls love Teddy

After school we met them with a frizzbee and candy from Grandma and Papa. We played with the frizzbee at the playground. When we got home I gave the boys my birthday poems, which I've been writing for them almost every year since they were born. They were unimpressed and pretended not to like them. I think one day they will. They opened another gift and card, I made them a smoothie, and they headed to hockey practice.

When they got home we grilled up the steak Brian had marinated for them, had some sweet potato fries and veggies. Calvin loves to talk about how much he loves steak. He ate a very large amount of steak tonight.

We had to chase them to bed. They all three wanted to sleep in the same bed, but we were able to convince Cal to sleep on the top bunk, but Teddy and Clark cuddled on the trundle, leaving the bottom bunk open.

I can't believe it's been seven years of these wonderful boys. I feel blessed to spend my days with them.

Toothless!

Impossible to take a normal picture of them

Cal reading his poem that was "Ok, but weird"

Huge Consignment Sale for Local Parents

I put this on my blog Facebook page but I'm never sure how many people actually see it. The Northern Virginia Parents of Multiples puts on this sale every year.

Super cool giveaway to two interested Whispers & Shouts readers: two Friends and Family passes to a big consignment sale put on by the NOVA Parents of Multiples the end of the month. These passes are worth $30 and will get you into the sale half an hour early to get the best bargains! First two to respond get them! I think I already have a taker for the first one, but I'm not sure yet.

EVENT DETAILS

Fall 2013 Northern Virginia Parents of Multiples Kid’s Consignment & Vendor Fair 9/28/13

Saturday, September 28th 9:00am to 1:00pm (doors close at 11:15am, floor is cleared, and half-price sale starts at 12pm) Luther Jackson Middle School 3020 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA 22042

Link to event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/405749222872143/

What Happens

Things That Happen The First Week You Have a Newborn with Twin 4 Year-Olds

1. The twins find your camera.

2. The twins' bedroom has a mysterious hurricane go through it...every day. 

3. They find those purple and black tights you forgot you had.

4. The twins need spectators for their fashion shows- they wear inside-out and upside-down costumes to get extra attention. They also pose and do slow motion plays in costume.

 5. The newborn poops and pees twice in his first bath- to the sheer delight of the twins.

6. Whoever can feed the newborn best is the best big brother.

 7. The newborn tries to nurse on one of the twins.

8. The newborn gets coaching tips from his three coaches while working out in the baby gym.

9. You spend all day making cow costumes with the twins in between newborn feedings.

10. One twin can't find his pool pass so he draws one on the whiteboard.

11. The No Boys on the Table rule isn't enforced.

12. Pajamas stay on until unspeakable times of the day.

13. But mostly you feel blessed to have three healthy, happy boys.

Almost There... 35 Weeks

Yes, I'm alive. Just haven't had a lot of blog inspiration or much time spent being comfortable enough to sit and write lately. I'm nearly in unfamiliar territory; I'm 35 weeks pregnant. With the boys I made it 36 weeks and 2 days.

This pregnancy has been much harder than my pregnancy with they boys. And it's because of the boys. I was on bed rest for two months last time. That means I laid around watching movies and snoozing and reading books and napping and sleeping for two months. Brian took care of dinner most nights and I never really left the house except to attend my baby showers. Little different this time. I have two four year-olds who need me and constantly want me involved in most things. Granted, I'm sure it would be harder to have only one four year-old at a time like this-- at least the boys have each other to play with. They want me to take them to the pool, they want me to play baseball with them, to color, to read with them, to play outside, to help build a Lego house, to play Candyland- totally normal little boy things that have gotten much more difficult. And it's not that I don't want to do them... it just hurts. Then there are the non-negotiables like how I need to feed them and clean them and wipe them and help them brush their teeth and wash their laundry and break up their fights. Some days I work in about half an hour of lying down into my afternoons. They're awesome for it. They just play together while I lie there semi-consciously on the couch. I also nearly always fall asleep while doing their reading lessons with them, so that's a nice little break too.

Good playmates...making loud noises

Last week I had severe back pain that I went into the doctor for. I didn't have anyone to watch the boys so they came with me and were super good; they colored and drew in the waiting room for about 40 minutes and then proceeded to talk the ears off several doctors. I had a mild infection and the antibiotics as well as a timely visit the next day to my massage therapist (and blog sponsor) have tremendously helped my back pain. It's still here, but much less intense. I also had other nice things happen during my bad back week- a friend came over and brought lunch, and then I had a much-anticipated night away with my dear friend Missy who I know all the way from the far-off land of College. These days that seems like so long ago.

We called our time away a frienassiance. She just recently finished her year of nursing her son, and to celebrate, her husband got her a night away at a bed and breakfast with spa. Lucky me got to tag along! I think it's only the second time I've spent the night away from both the boys- the other being when my sister turned 21 and we went up to New York. It was refreshing and beautiful and my back barely hurt the whole time. The woman who served us breakfast looked at my belly and asked, "When are you due, like three days ago?" Thanks for that.

Love the swing

Frienassaince!

When I came home we packed the boys up and went to a Potomac Nationals game (Single A Minor League team) as a season-ending party with our Blastball team. We sat on bleachers for one and a half games (I didn't get the doubleheader memo due to a postponed game the day before.), watched fireworks, the boys ran the bases and ate a lot of peanuts, popcorn, and funnel cake with their Red Wings teammates, and we got home super late. They loved it and it was a great night out for baseball. The P-Nats even won both games. (More than the Washington Nationals have done lately) My back barely bothered until the end and I was happy to have slept in late at the bed and breakfast that morning.

Baseball food!

Watching the catcher and pitcher warm up for game 2

The Red Wings with their certificates! 

We've decided on Peapod's name and bought the letters to put on the wall with the boys' names. We have a stroller frame now to go with our car seat. We got a little gift basket of fuzzy blue and white baby things today. I put bedding in the little crib in our bedroom. We found a diaper and wipes sale at Costco and so we've got diapers for quite awhile. It's really happening! And I'm so excited to get this child out of me and in my arms instead of strapped about my middle.

Twenty-five days until the scheduled C-section! I'm thinking things down there are going to be ready sooner than that though...

Yikes!

Thursday Thesicle

One is a ball player, two is a team, three is a dedicated grounds crew.

The Countdown

Last time I was pregnant pretty much everything was different. For example, I didn't have 4 year-olds to take care of every day. And I was on bedrest from 28-36 weeks. I took pictures of my expanding belly every Tuesday...it was a little ridiculous. I realized today that I haven't specifically taken a single picture of my belly this pregnancy. Poor Peapod! So today, at 31 weeks, I took the first picture. Actually, the boys took turns taking pictures because they're obsessed with using my camera. Thus begins the countdown until July 5th.

Here's a little side-by-side comparison to last time:

Pregnant with Cal and Clark four years ago

Pregnant with Peapod today

Pretty sure I'm bigger today than I was four years ago with twins. I'll blame it on the twins stretching out my uterus. At this rate Peapod will come out right around 14 pounds...

4 Year-Olds' Sports Party

Since the boys are obsessed with sports, as I've written about here, we decided to have a sports birthday party for them. Last year it was astronauts and space robots they were obsessed with, but that phase is over and now every day is a sports day.

We borrowed sports equipment from several different friends, and set up Gammy and Poppy's yard and driveway with a baseball field, soccer field, basketball court, golf course, football field, and hockey rink. I asked everyone to wear jerseys for the occasion. We set up a popcorn machine and smoothie station on the deck, grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, and also had the sand table out which is always a big hit with the kids.

The past few years we've also had their birthday parties at Gammy and Poppy's house in their nice backyard and we had two beautiful days for the parties. Not so this year. About 45 minutes to an hour into the party it started raining. So we had somewhere around 60 people (half of them little people) all over in the house, with some brave ones still playing outside for awhile. It was disappointing, but obviously we knew the risk of planning such a party and we had to get over it.

I made baseball and football cupcakes for dessert. The boys and I had partially made two pinatas but I ran out of steam and never got them painted. That turned out fine actually, because doing a pinata in the house would have been a disaster, as would have been a soggy pinata outside. I got foam pennants and stickers for the kids to each decorate a pennant to take home. The favor bags were wrapped up like peanuts at a ball game.

Here are some pictures.

The boys helping put all the names on the pennants a few days before

My baseball and football cupcakes

Goodie bags wrapped like hot peanuts

Pennants to decorate

Just a ball player hydratin' 

Gammy the smoothie queen/popcorn machine runner

Brian decorated by hanging jerseys on the fences

Backyard

Four year-old birthday ball players

Pennants!

Fierce!

More athlete brothers

Henry's first pennant

So THAT's where all the lady bug stickers went...

Alex was so excited to give the boys their gift...

It's more twin brother athletes! (upside-down)

My Baby Alex is growing up!

Santiago preferred to decorate the back of his, so...

Upside down and hidden Oliver

Clark photo-bombs Sonja's delightful pennant picture.

Pretty Rebecca

Some sports snuggling with Aunt Julie

That's an intense hockey player with Uncle A

Another set of helmets to add to the collection...

Capitals bobbleheads and other Caps gear from Gammy and Poppy
They'll even get to ice skate at the Caps practice facility!

From what I've heard, even though much of the party ended up being inside,
the kids still had enough fun to be completely wiped out.

We've spent the last week enjoying all kinds of new toys from our kind friends and family. Here is some documentation of the fun the boys have had with their new things.

Thanks to Grandma, Papa, Great Grandma, and Cowboy Grandpa,
these boys have scooters, helmets, pads, and ferocity. 

They LOVE their umbrellas from Alex! We had three rainy days to try them out.

Radio-controlled cars from cousins have been motoring
all over the house. Soon we'll try them out in water, too!

Golf gear and an inside putting hole have been a big hit.

A soccer ball to decorate, awesome place-mat doodle pads, art supplies...

Today they got to try out the golf shirts and hats.

Yep, they work

They tried out the scooters and new caped superhero shirts.

Alex tended to Clark's boo-boo. Shouldn't have taken the helmet off...

The radio control also works as a tool for knee surgery on RG3.

We are so blessed by our family and friends who helped make the party fun and the birthday special for the boys. Thank you. They are constantly telling everyone that they are now four years old. Brian and I cannot believe it! These years are going so quickly.