It was a dark and stormy night...

It has been miserably hot this summer. I think we had record heat in June and July. But one day last week we got a surprise visit from a long lost friend we hadn't seen in ages...that's right, rain.

I moved the ottomans over to the window. The boys thought it was the coolest thing and actually sat still for a few minutes.



They liked to gasp and look over at me real fast whenever it would lightning :)


Now Evan and Carter use the ottomans to get up on the window sills to watch their TV shows.

Never say Never

You know how your mom always said "never say never". Well, I made quite a few of these "never" statements when my babies were still little lumps that didn't do much but eat and sleep.

Here is a classic example:

I will never have my house look like a daycare when you walk in the front door.
We did really well with this the first year of the Spankys' lives because they weren't allowed downstairs. Seriously. We had a fridge, high chairs, cribs, and toys upstairs...there was no need for them to be aware of life beyond the baby gate. Then we got a little lax and baby proofed the living room, kitchen and dining. Then we brought in a few toys so they could play downstairs while we cooked dinner.

Next, we got really crazy and sold our dining table to make way for the bistro grill, some ride on toys, then a picnic table. And now...shudder...we have a playscape in the dining room. And of course, this is the first room you see when you walk in. I think the mirror and liquor bottles really class the place up a bit.


So, we can now admit we have officially given up. The Spankys are in charge, and we are just happy to be along for the ride :)

A Safe Haven

So, Davis is my helper boy. Every time he comes down stairs he immediately gathers up the remotes and hands them to me. He insists on putting any shoes laying around in the closet and closes all doors to "baby-free" rooms.

He also brings me any little piece of paper, lint, or tiny object he finds throughout the day. I don't know how he knows what things they aren't supposed to have it, but for some reason he does.

It never really occurred to me what he does with these little things when I am not around. However, the other day I was frantically looking for the batteries that were no longer in the kid's laptop for some reason. All of the kids were still alive, but I thought I should find and inspect the batteries for slobber/bite marks.

I looked under every couch, chair, cabinet, door etc...nothin'.

I don't know why this caught my eye because we never use this table and the kids never really mess with it. You can see a finger hole at the bottom where the top of the table lifts off and can be flipped over.






When I opened it, I found what must be months worth of contraband (and the batteries).



It is really so sweet that he is looking after his brothers when I am not around.

Pudding...Big Boy Style

We have tried to avoid messes for as long as possible by not giving the kids spoons and a cup of something really delicious at the same time.

But they are almost 2 and should really be allowed the chance to learn some big boy skills. So, we stripped them down to their diapers, took them outside and let them have at it.

They all immediately knew what to do and dug in.



Davis says "Hooray for spoons!!!!"


Carter and Evan say "Uh, we're running low on pudding...are you going to do something about this?".


The sweet taste of success!


We hosed the boys and the table down afterwards. They then proceeded to slurp the water off of the table...how uncivilized.

Triple Trouble (times 2)

We had our first play date with a family that I have emailed back and forth with for about a year now. I had never actually met her in person but we felt like we already knew each other. We both have triplet boys and a girl Westie :)

Her boys were born about 3 months after mine and they are just precious! We met at the mall play area and it worked perfectly because we just blocked the entrance with our huge strollers. Luckily we went early when no one else was really there.

Everyone was so well behaved and really enjoyed climbing around. She and I thought it was funny that the boys that were in similar colors seemed to want to play together...

Carter & Drew...


Davis & Luke...



Evan & Cole...



We are looking forward to our next get together!

Fourth of July Weekend Festivities

Mimi and Papa (Kyle's parents) came into town for the 4th! This was the first time in a while that he and I didn't just dump the kids on them and take-off for a weekend alone :)

It was so wonderful to get to do new fun things (with all of the extra hands) and see them interact with their grandparents.

We started off with a neighborhood parade. It was really more of a "neighborhood walk" considering there were no spectators :)

Davis (red), Carter (blue), Evan (white)



They love riding in their wagon and having their own space.



After that we cooled down inside with new books from Mimi & Papa...

...mooched off of Mimi's plate...


...and then rough-housed with Papa!




The next day we went to the neighborhood pool for the first time. The boys had a blast in water.


The pool arealooks like a resort and has beautiful Hill Country views.


After this, we were worn out for the rest of the weekend.

Doin' Our Own Thang

Although difficult to execute, we are trying to give the boys some alone time. A few weekends ago (I know I am behind on my blogging), Kyle, Gigi, and myself each took a kid.

Carter went to Gigi's house and played in the fish pond, ate popcorn and watched movies.

Evan and Daddy went to Home Depot and to McDonalds for cookies and fruit of all things (that is Evan's favorite).

Davis and I went to Henry's 3rd birthday party. Henry is the nephew of our beloved babysitter and lives here in our neighborhood. Davis loved every minute of it...especially the hot dogs and cake. He seems to really enjoy other kids as well and there were some cuties there.


Davis and Collin finishing up their hot dogs:



Davis and other revelers helping the birthday boy open presents:

Davis and Henry shooting hoops...Davis is the one in the plaid shorts. He and Henry look a lot alike with their similar coloring/haircuts.


This week, I am going to try to do a separate post about each of our little guys...they are very complex beings and we need to delve further into their individual personalities :)