Olivia's new Bow

Okay, so I got Olivia the "new style" bow and I just had to take a few pictures to show you how cute!!

PICNIC DAY

When I woke up this morning it was just a tad on the cold side....okay who am I kidding, it was in the upper 40's ...and let me assure you, for us Floridians, that's freezing! However, there was not a cloud in the sky, a slight breeze and as the sun came up a little more, things began to warm up. It seemed just too perfect a morning to pass up cramped inside. So we loaded up the goods set off for a picnic morning.

When I started unloading the kids at Island Park, I was afraid I had made a mistake. The air was espcially cold right on the bay, but as soon as we found a sunny spot in the grass, we warmed right up! I brought McDonalds, a football and frisbees...and of course my camera. The kids all loved it.

I'll tell ya what, after yesterday, I needed a "relaxing" morning like this. We managed to avoid any major meltdowns when we left and now the kids are worn out and all tucked in for a nice little nappy nap:)

Christmas 09'

TOO...ti-red ......2.....write.......Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas at Mimi and Papa Frank's

Last night we had a great dinner and evening at Mimi and Papa Frank's house. Mimi made turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, home made biscuits, salad, cranberry sauce and cookies for dessert. We all sat around in the living room and stuffed ourselves. Even the twins joined in! I'm afraid it may have spoiled them though. They are going to turn up their noses when I offer them their measly little jarred food:) After dinner we all opened gifts and boy were Maddox and Jaxon surprised! They got a racecar track, remote control car/airplane and art boards. They immediately wanted to play with all their goodies. Ty and Olivia had fun ripping at their paper ( especially Ty, who was actually pretty furious while tearing at it ). The twins didn't know what to do. I think they were overwhelmed that they had new toys to play with. ..... Rather mesmorized. Anyways, we had a perfect time. I couldn't have asked for a better night. And as you will see in the pictures, Olivia's lip is almost completely healed:)

My Poor Sweet Olivia:(

Olivia fell down the two steps into our garage today and now she has a big ol' lip. ( Picture Angelina Jolie! ) Poor little thing :( Aside from her lip, she is doing fine. I had pictures of her lip up, but my mom said they were too sad and to take them off, so if you want to see them I will e-mail them to you. I didn't think they were too bad, but then again that may be because of what I do!

Christmas.... Express Delivery

Seriously? Less than a week before Christmas already? I think I must have hit my head in the beginning of the month and just woke up, because December has flown by! Being such a traditionalist, I am having a hard time with the speed of the season.

I've given up on the idea of getting a real Christmas tree the week after Thanksgiving. Along with being a traditionalist, one of my new hobbies is attempting to be a realist also. ( Although Arik may disagree :) And I have to say, I am getting a little sentimental with our little 4 foot Christmas tree that we have had set up together every year. After all, it was also the tree that we had our first year with Maddox. Each year when I pull out the pieces of the tree from the tattered white box, the scent of "storage" hits me and it immediately reminds me of the year before. Inevitably, I automatically think to myself, " Wow, I can't believe Christmas is here again!" Our ornament collection is steadily growing and will eventually outgrow our tree, forcing us into a bigger one anyways.

I finally got it set up last Thursday. I kept putting it off with hopes that we may be able to have a night of Christmas music and hot chocolate as a family, but with Arik and my schedule clashing , we just couldn't make it work. The boys were with my mom for the first half of the night while I cleaned the house a bit and I forced myself to turn on Holiday music to help me get in the spirit. It really did help. When it got down to time to set up the tree, I had to use my cell phone to shine light in our shed because we don't have a flashlight! Thank goodness everything that I needed was pretty close to the front. I was certain that a roach or spider was going to crawl across my arm, or worse ...jump on me, so I anticipated what it was going to feel like. But, I got the boxes without a problem. However, we apparently have a bit of a shed ant problem. I opened up the box and carpenter ants scattered out. Most of the ornaments were well wrapped and they couldn't get to them though. My mom suggested I set the tree up on our table this year and seeing how Olivia is into anything and everything she can get her hands on, I thought it was a great idea!

Speaking of Miss Olivia...the princess of the Smith house, she is a little drama queen/talker/Miss animation. She epitomizes a little girl already. When I say Drama queen let me emphasize dramatic. Her little world crumbles if you walk away from her and she wants you. Yesterday I was attempting to move stuff inside after our yard sale and she pitifully followed me around in her walker crying at me. I went into the garage and she sat at the door screaming. I finished what I needed to do and came back to her, immediately she stopped crying and calmed down. On her less dramatic side, she is starting to recognize words. I can ask her where my nose is and she will grab it. ( Arik didn't believe me, he said if I held her in front of me and said poop over and over she would eventually grab for my nose....I had to prove him wrong...and I did:) I'll let you get the visual ) She is ready to take off. I can hold her hands and she will take a few little steps with me. She does really well balancing and trying to hold herself up.....Ty on the other hand.....not so much, poor little chunky monkey.

Ty is still just such a laid back little guy. He is content 99.9% of the time and give him food, he's happy 100% of the time! He is very giggly, and of the two he is easier to get a smile from. He prefers his excersaucer over the walker and when he bounces in it, it reminds me of how Maddox used to furiously bounce in it when he was that age. Ty is so far much more cuddly of the two. He will fall asleep on me or lay his head on me if I am holding him. He got me the other day with his two teeth. Clearly he hasn't figured out the strength of his chomp, or rather I haven't figured it out! After the Holidays, we are going to start doubling up on his therapy sessions and go twice a week. He still isn't where we would like to be at this point. I was talking to the wife of a guy I work with this am who just had twins. I told her how guilty I felt that I didn't watch his head and neck better when he was smaller. For the most part the torticullis is preventable. When he was little and his poor little head was lying crooked I should have put a roll on that side of the his head to position him straighter. I showed her a picture of him when he was about 2 months old and it looked like his head was lying sideways on his body. I just never realized how bad it would actually be for him. However, he is making progress. I am also going to talk to his therapist about a small cervical collar which my aunt and Grandpa recommend. My Grandpa can special order one if she doesn't feel it would be counterproductive.

Maddox and Jaxon are as good as ever. They really have become good buds and scheming buds. My gosh those boys tag team me already! I think they secretly meet up after hours and devise new ways to thin out mommy's hair! I really think that they are part rubber b/c those boys bounce off the walls. In their defense I think they need to run a bit more. Lately I haven't gotten out with them much at all. As you know, I usually like to take them out atleast once a day to run off their steam. Every night though when I go to bed, I look at their sweet little faces and think to myself, how could I ever get frustrated with those angelic faces. ...I think the night time messes with my mind a bit:) But seriously, I know one day they are going to call me weird for it, but I'll crawl in bed with them some nights and just watch them sleep and hold them. I definitely get a little more cuddle time with Maddox b/c he takes his naps in our room. He has held onto that snugly behavior and still wants to hold me to fall asleep and rub noses and have me tickle his face. As a result Maddox tends to be the more sensitive of the two. Jaxon needs his cuddle time when he wakes up and when he gets hurt, otherwise you may get a quick hug and kiss...if you're lucky. Oh! Jax is making good progress. He is now telling us that he has to go poop. Even out in public. I am so proud of him! Actually to be honest, he is a little better at telling us than Maddox. So two down, two to go! ( For the most part )

So there's an update. I don't have any good new excuses for not keeping up. I will be posting Christmas Eve and Christmas Day pictures though. I can't wait! ...But then again, I may not have to seeing as how fast this month is going by.

IT'S A RACE

So in Ty and Olivia's endless race to see who can do what first, Ty has briefly regained the lead. I saw that Ty is cutting his first two teeth! The front bottom two are already sticking out. I swear it had to be overnight! And in Ty's quest to parallel Maddox, those just happen to be the first two he got also. Anyways, that's all. Stay tuned for pics of them:)

MESSY DAY

I kept Maddox out of school today to take him with us to our Tuesday playgroup. Partially because he loves to go and mostly because I was just too whipped afterwork to get everything ready for his school day. Anyways, while I was getting the twins dressed the boys went out back to play. All I hear is the sweet music of laughter and play. And as any mother knows, those sounds are too suspicious when you have two young unsupervised boys. Turns out, they made a mud puddle and were litterally diving into it and smacking it with a bat giggling in delight as it splattered ALL over their faces. .... ( said with an expressionless face...."yeah: )

So we got to playgroup about an hour late, seeing as how I had to assembly line the boys through the shower first! We had a good morning hough. For the first time I was able to sit in a chair and set the twins in front of some toys while they played. There is such a range of ages that come, birth to about five years old.

Evrything was going great right up until we decided to leave. I was finishingup a conversation with another mother and I caught a glance of the boys at the finger paint table.....( another straight face...."yeah:" ) I was too late. The small white table had failed to attract the boys attention for over an hour and yet, we couldn't make it another 5 minutes. Maddox came grinning to me holding his palms out for me to observe his work of art....all over his body. Blue, green and yellow paint covered his entire shirt, pants arms and face. .....deep breath......ANNNND enter Jaxon....crying ....holding his tongue out and spattering in between sobs. You guessed....It was all inside his mouth on his teeth and all over his arms.

Now I'm just throwing this out there and I know I shouldn't expect anything. But a few weeks ago I quickly offered a little girl an apron as she went to dip into the paints and her father was no where to be seen. Granted he showed up a few seconds later, but he expressed his gratitude that I diverted a potential disaster. I'd like to think that one of the other moms would have stepped in, but on the other hand they were probably getting a kick out of it and saying, " Oh boy, somebody's not going to be happy!"

As frustrated as I was, Maddox made up for it as we were singing Christmas carols on the way home. He chimed in with the radio, " oh oh the Mr. Toe! " I had to smile and certainly didn't correct him and it brought a smile to my face cheering my drive home:)

Sleepy Sunday

Phew, am I ever tired. For the most part I try to get to sleep no later than 10. Even if I am watching a show I usually save it for the next day. Nothing is quite as enjoyable when you know you'll have a full day ahead of you a few hours later.

So last night was a little shock to my system when I didn't get to be until midnight and then had a restless night with the older boys...oddly enough. Between them both peeing the bed and Jaxon's persistant cough ( poor little guy ) I had a pretty rough morning!

But Joseph and Jaena to the rescue. They spent the night and were a huge help playing with the kids today. I did get up enough energy to load them all up in my moms van and take them to the new park we have. It was actually perfect weather and they all had a really great time. The twins are now at one of the stages I've been looking so forward to, when I can take them out of the stroller and let them sit wherever we go. The were very curious about the grass, but content as cucumbers!

With Jaena's assistance, we were able to keep all the babaies awake on the ride home and lay them down for a nice nap when we got home. And guess who was sleeping with them?? Ding DIng Ding! Me:)

Growin' Up:(

Look at my big babies, sittin' up and playin' in the playpen. I have to say I got a little teary-eyed going through clothes for the winter knowing that most of the outfits in their closet they would never fit into again. It's amazing the progress they have made just in the past couple of days. They are now both eating little cherrios and biter-cookies. y and Olivia both are going to cut their eye teeth any day. They each have hard red bumps where they want to push out! It will be so strange seeing the with teeth!

Bundle Buddies!

All wrapped up for the cool weather! Livi LOVES her Jaxon:)

ANDY, WE MAY NEED YOUR SERVICES!

Apparently Jax isn't ready to be left on the potty by himself. Here I was so excited, " Jax, are you making some?" ..... "Yes, I am mommy". I guess he got a little confused on what he was supposed to be making.

Naughty or Nice??

The kids and I took a trip to the mall today. I contemplated turning back halfway there, afraid of the crowds we may face, but changed my mind and decided to take the chance. Turns out it actually wasn't too bad and it actually helped put a little bit of the Holiday spirit in the air. This weekend we have a nice cold front blowing through so all the kiddos got to bundle up in their jackets and hats. They looked so cute...of course;) Thank you to Hillary, her family and Adam the boys have a nice collection of winter clothes to get them through the next 2 winters ( atleast). And sorry Ty...they're gonna get you through about the next 4!

I can't tell you how many people stop me when we are out in public. Evryone wants to get a peek at the twins and are curious how old Maddox and Jaxon are. And honestly I thought I'd be a millionaire from the nickles I get when people ask if I play basketball....but I take that back, I get more comments now saying, " Boy you sure have your hands full!" E-V-ERY where I go I get it atleast 4-5 times. So I just throw back the standard, " Yeah, they sure keep me busy!".....insert cheesy smile. Some other great ones I get are, " Two sets of twins?" ( no, a year apart...gentle smile and laugh) "Are they identical?" ( nope, boy and girl ) "Do you have a lot of help?" ( yes, we do get a lot thank goodness...smile, we are so lucky ) and of course the...." Are you done!? " ( yes, laugh out loud...definately!) I think that was the one thing I wasn't expecting with the babies, but I welcome it for the most part. It makes me proud I have to admit!

So getting to the point. The kids met Santa tonight. I have to say he wasn't the jolliest ol' soul I've ever met. Thank goodness he was too quiet for the kids to pick up on though. I was shocked that they actually made it to his side seeing as how our last trip to the mall I practically had to drag the boys in when the even caught the slighest hint that Santa may be somewhere inside the mall! That and the fact that last year Maddox refused to step foot inside his gated entry. I had to laugh though because while we got the shot of the four of them, it's as if I took a picture of Arik with Santa Claus and multiplied it by 4! They enjoyed it though and were excited to get their candy cane afterwards. All in all I'd have to say a good experience! So end point..I think my kids made the "nice" list, however, Santa may be on the "naughty" list this year!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Well, a day early:) I will unfortunately be working tomorrow, but I will most certainly be reflecting on everything that I have to be Thankful for. Lately I have felt a little discouraged by the things that I have. Frustration that my couch has stains and smells like dog, or that my back yard is littered with trash 6 days of the week cleaned on the 7th and littered again by the next day...not to mention my plant areas are now a strewn mess of dirt and black garden liner. I feel guilty that my boys are sleeping on a creaking bunk bed that has slats missing from the underside and beautiful pink flowers painted across the front. This goes along great with their closet doors that no longer slide open so they are sitting off to the side exposing all of the clothes and closet contents. I get angry that I have to walk on a floor of tiles that are slowly breaking apar and coming up from the foundation. With every piece of loose grout the I kick up with my toe and step on I find myself mumbling under my breath.

With that being said, let me count my blessings. I have the most beautiful, wonderful family. I have a husband who is a hard worker and loves his kids more than anyone can imagine. I am so proud of him and how he has adapted to being a father. I am so thankful that everyday he goes into work he is doing his part to protect the place where I raise my children without ever complaining.

God has trusted me and given me the responsibility of raising four very young children at once. My heart is so proud when I look at them, hear them and watch them play. Not a moment goes by that I am not thinking of my babies.

I have an incredible family here and extended that I am so thankful for. I am so fortunate to not only have love and supprt from my family, but from Arik's family as well.

I have a job that I love and look forward to. How many people can truly say that. With times like they are, I am so blessed to have a job.

So who cares if my couch is stained and smells like dog, I have a couch to sit on. My yard may be dirty, but the kids have a fenced yard to play in. And how can I complain about the bunkbeds, they were free! And last I checked, a painting project isn't out of the question. And the closet doors that show all the clothes? My kids have an abundance of clothes to wear and I don't have to worry about them being cold during the winter. As for the tiles? Well, I am just thankful that we are renting and it's not my expense!

How dare I be ungrateful for anything I have. God has truly given me everything that I need and for that, I am Thankful.

Haircuts and Bowling

I've been missin' the kids lately. Too much work and not enough play. Oh, not just the paying work, but the housework too. I guess the old saying holds true, " A woman's work is never done!" Each day I am more and more convinced at how accurate it is. I got off this morning and vowed not to do a bit of housework and just spend the mrning enjoying my kids. Okay, I loaded the dishes, but that was when the boys were getting dressed and the twins were taking a quick snooze! ( That doesn't count right? )

I didn't really have a game plan. A lot of ideas, but fitting them in before naptime would be tricky on last minutes notice. So we ended up going to get haircuts and bowling. The boys have literally been begging to get their haircut over the past few weeks. ( I think it's the lollipop at the end ) Maddox has been insisting that his hair is getting, " too blonde!!!" ( I'm pretty sure he means too long )

After haircuts, we took our first trip to the bowling alley and after a few minutes of "teaching" the boys got the hang of it and I could actually sit back with the twins and watch. We ended up being the only people there so that was really nice. The boys each took one good fall when they crossed the line, but thankfully no injuries. We rounded up the morning with a game of pinball and a whining match as we had to leave. All of my kids were ready for a nice nap after a busy morning!....AT THE SAME TIME YAY!!