Free as a Bird

You never know what you're going to see riding a young girls bike in the middle of the day in your neighborhood.  Yes, that's a parrot and the kids were thrilled to hang out with it for a bit!

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

It was a wild morning with 4 kids all very excited about seeing what Santa brought for them.  Fortunately, we had lots of adults to help out.  Sam and Ben tore through their pile very quickly while the babies were unsure what all the commotion was about.  Graham was the funniest as Santa had brought two large tennis balls to Sadie (our dog).  But don't tell Graham that those tennis balls were not intended for him as he carried one in each hand all  morning long.  Grace was especially fond of a large tutu and diamond tiara (princess anyone?) given to her by Mimi & Pop.  Sam loved all the sports related gifts and the Harry Potter legos.  Ben was probably the most anxious for Christmas.  It was his first year to really "get it".  He patiently and carefully opened all of his gifts.  He probably enjoyed the super hero outfit from Uncle Jim & Greg the best, but he honestly played all morning with every single gift.  Afterwards, we enjoyed more food with a great group of family members.

Merry Christmas everyone!  This day will go down as one of my favorites ever!

We Caught You...Again

And we couldn't believe when we caught Santa (AGAIN!) leaving presents for all of the kids this morning.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

After laughing through a home cooked meal with some of our favorite people, we enjoyed a few Christmas Eve traditions before settling down for the night.  They included:

1.) Ben sprinkling the reindeer food that he made at school on the front lawn.
2.) Leaving carrots, cookies and milk for Santa & his reindeer by the fireplace.
3.) Reading the 2 books that we always read before going to bed, The Night Before Christmas & The Night Before Christmas in Texas.

Now it was time to get into bed and wait to for the sun to rise on Christmas Eve...

Sam & Ben's Gingerbread House

Sam and Ben worked a good portion of the morning on their gingerbread house.  Scratch that...Sam worked a good portion of the morning on our gingerbread house.  Ben worked for 5 minutes and then decided that eating the candy was more fun than sticking it to the house.  Yum!

Our Favorite Team!

Mrs. Prater's Ponies

Sam had his first field day at Mark Twain on Friday.  Scott, Ben and I came out to cheer on Mrs. Prater's Ponies.  There was a lot of excited screaming and jumping.  They didn't end up winning but they had a great time working together as a team to try and beat the other Kindergarten classes.

Christmas PJs

We love Christmas pajamas.  Sam decided to wear his new ones to bed the other night.  Ben followed his lead and then requested that the twins wear theirs too.  They looked so cute in them that I (of course) had to  snap a few pictures.  The boys were ready to ham it up, but Grace was not interested at all.  I love this time of year!

Have a holly jolly Christmas!

Christmas JOY

Days like today just make me happy.  Maybe a little exhausted too...but definitely happy.  For a full day, we had some very special people take time of their busy lives to drive (and fly) to Houston to celebrate Christmas with us.  I'm sad that I don't have a picture of Lindsey, Uncle Ronnie, Teresa, Delia & Jack here...but everyone else is captured.  Our Gigi & Granddaddy would have loved this gathering watching the big kids play football in the front yard while the adults looked on.  Happy holidays to my wonderful family.

The power of a plastic box

The kids had so much fun pushing each other around in a plastic box this afternoon.  Who needs toys for Christmas?

Make believe buddies

Scott and I had a great time watching Ben & Graham play with the Batman cave.  They both had a Batman in hand and made him fly all over the room and through the cave.  It's amazing to me that they can become good friends & playing buddies at such a young age.

Grandparent's Night at St. Luke's

Grandma and PawPaw came in for Ben's performance at Grandparent's Night at St. Luke's Day School last week.  Ben performed 2 songs and truly was the shining star on the stage.

The Undecorated Tree

Last weekend, we loaded up the kids and headed to a nursery up the road.  It was cold and windy, so we quickly agreed on a beautiful live tree, tied it to the top of our car and headed home to set it up.  For a week it sat in the front room undecorated.  Yesterday morning, Sam, Ben and I strung the lights on the tree and started adding all of our decorations that we've collected over the years.  Almost immediately, Grace comes over and starts eating the lights.  So...the lights are removed.  Graham follows her lead and starts removing each ball ornament (thankfully all non breakable) and starts throwing them  down the hallway to chase after them.  So...the ornaments on the bottom of the tree were removed.  What we have is a kind of sad tree that just makes me smile.  Every now and then, the older boys will decide to dig another ornament out of the box and add it high enough where the babies cannot get to them.  It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great time in Austin over the Thanksgiving holidays.  We spent lots of time outside in the backyard and ate lots of delicious meals.  Scott and I even snuck out for a date night which was a real treat.  This morning in the pouring rain, we packed our car and headed home.  All of the kids were so sad to say goodbye to Mimi & Pop.  Happy holidays!

Dress Up Time

Ben's imagination is going wild right now.  Every day he pretends to be someone new.  This week he's been everything from Spiderman to Bob the Builder to Woody, the Cowboy to a train conductor.  Let your imagination go wild, Ben!

2 dogs, 1 tennis ball = 1 unhappy toddler

Soccer Saturday

Yesterday, we had a huge crew out to watch Sam play soccer.  Mimi, Pop, Grandma and Aunt Deta came out to cheer on Team Speed.  Sam had 6 goals while the sideline crew (Ben, Graham and Grace) kept the cheering group busy watching fire trucks, chasing balls and basically running crazy during the hour long game.  Thanks to everyone for making the trip to Houston.

For the love of soccer

Ben had a great 1st season playing soccer at the YMCA.  He loved his uniform and the warm-ups/practice prior to the start of the game.  But during the game, he really just wanted to hold hands with his friends (and competitors) and run with the pack chasing the ball.  He ended the season with two goals...both of which brought the biggest smile you've ever seen.  At the team party after the last game, Ben was excited to be receive his 1st trophy and award for Longest Goal though the coach joked that really his award should have been for "Team Casanova".

Halloween Night

Halloween night was a little insane.  Since it occurred on a Monday night, we waited until Scott got home to get everyone dressed.  We had a fairy (Grace), astronaut (Graham), fireman (Ben) and Jango Fett from Star Wars (Sam).  This year was particularly fun since Sam is now at the neighborhood elementary school.  He wanted to stop by all of his friends' houses to ask for treats.  About an hour into the night, I came home with the twins while the big boys and Scott continued on.  Sam and Ben had a great night and collected lots of candy from our neighbors.  Trick or treat!

Crazy Girl

Don't let this sweet face deceive you, Grace is the craziest baby we've ever had.  She's definitely trying to be "one of the boys" and, honestly, who could blame her!

Pumpkin Patch

A few days before Halloween, I decided to take the kids to the pumpkin patch at St. Luke's.  Four kids to one adult was a little insane, but the kids had a great time perusing the different pumpkins.  Ultimately, we agreed on four large pumpkins and a few baby pumpkins.  This is one of my favorite traditions!

Spooky Spaghetti

Tonight was a fun night for the boys.  We attended Spooky Spaghetti at Sam’s school.  It’s a carnival that has lots of fun activities like a haunted house (too scary…Sam declared he’s never going inside again…Ben wouldn’t even look inside the door), huge blow-up slides (Ben went at least 10 times), jousting (the funniest part of the night.  Sam jousted against a friend but the joust was so heavy that he could barely stay upright), confetti eggs (beware Scott…you are the main target) and fun friends (new and old).  The boys didn’t stop smiling or moving the entire night.  I have no doubt that they will sleep well tonight.

Ben's 1st GOAL!!

Ben scored his 1^st goal at soccer this morning.  I was at a terrible angle, but you can see the ball go in on the left and Ben on the right.  He was VERY proud of himself and the crowd agreed as they let out a huge cheer when it went in.  He still loved hugging and skipping with his teammates, but he also enjoyed running in a pack around the team chasing the ball.  

Grace, Graham & Sam cheered on Ben from the sidelines.  We’re definitely a soccer family in the making.  Go Team Seattle!

Fast!

Pay close attention to Grace's face...she could not be HAPPIER with this high speed adventure.

Rain, rain came today!

We've flipped!

After much thought and discussion, we decided to flip the twins forward in their car seats.  Ben needed leg room and we couldn’t fix that problem without moving one of the twins to the back.  So, we decided to take the plunge.  Today we had our 1^st adventure facing forwards.  Grace wasn’t so sure what to think about it in the beginning (she loved it once she noticed ALL she could see out the window) but Graham kept laughing and waving at everyone. 

A sweet moment

One of the boys

She might wear pink, but don't let that fool you.  Grace can hold her own with her 3 older brothers!

Tooth Fairy mishap

Two weeks ago, Sam lost his 2nd tooth. They had already gone to bed when Sam came out to declare that his tooth was very loose. After inspecting his mouth, I decided it needed to come out. With a little wiggling, it popped right out. Of course, I had just organized the closet where the tooth fairy pillow so safely resided and could not find it. After 30 minutes, Scott convinced Sam to put it in a treasure box that he made. Sam sadly agreed and placed it under his pillow for the tooth fairy.

The next morning Sam comes running out his room and declared that the tooth fairy had not come and it was because we didn’t have the pillow. Uh oh. I cannot believe the tooth fairy FORGOT to come. Hmmm…. So, I spent the rest of the morning searching high and low for the pillow. Finally, I remembered…I moved it to the cedar closet so that know one would bother it. I grabbed it and Sam very proudly placed his tooth in the pillow that his Grandma handmade for him. This time…the tooth fairy must have set an alarm to remind her, because she came and brought a few extra dollars.

As the pillow awaits tooth #3, it resides in a safe place (in view) in the boys’ closet. We won’t make the same mistake twice…hopefully!

Where have the blog posts gone?

I cannot believe that it has been 3 WEEKS since my last blog post. That sounds a little bit like a confession but honestly it was a shock to me when I logged on tonight.

Fortunately, the time has been well spent!

My girlfriend, Ashley, and I have officially buckled down to get Pepper Lindsey & Co off the ground. We have developed a great line of holiday products and had our first party in Lake Charles (where Ashley grew up) on Thursday. It was very successful and while we have a little stress on how you merge full time mom with part-time, work while the children sleep small business owners…we are excited to see where this takes us. We have another event, in Houston, at the end of the month and are taking orders online at http://www.pepperlindsey.com/.

I thought you guys would love to see a view of my office (center picture w/ white border). Yes, it’s a cedar closet…and, yes, I LOVE it.

I’m exhausted and a little on edge, but I’m having the BEST time!

Wish us luck and don’t forget to tell a friend about our new adventure!

Ben's Birthday Video

After 2 failed video attempts (Scott and myself), a sweet friend came to our rescue.  I was so excited when she told me this past weekend that she had captured the moment on film.  Ben's face is hilarious throughout the entire video and I love when Uncle Jim saves the day at the end of the video.  Happy Birthday (again), Ben! 

I'm in LOVE!

Sam (#4) and his speedy teammates. Go Team Speed!

Ben's Pre-Soccer Workout

Soccer Saturday

This morning was the first soccer game for Ben at the YMCA (Team Seattle) and for Sam with West U (Team Speed). 

Ben went first at 8am.  We was so excited to get to the field and loved running up and down scoring goals before the game started.  During the actual game, Ben was the official ball finder.  He would stand in the middle of the field, search for the ball, find it and then point it out for the other players to run to and kick.  He also got to play goalie at the beginning of the game and loved holding hands with friends while they waited patiently for the umpire to start the game.  To say up was excited about his first game would be a serious understatement.

Next we headed to Sam’s game.  What a difference in the games.  Sam's age plays three on three and wow… those kids hussled it.  I was pleasantly surprised by the passing of the ball from teammate to teammate.  Sam scored many goals (as did his teammates) and was wet head to toe from sweat at the end of the game.  They are on the "reunion team" as one of his friends pointed because it's pretty much the exact same team from last year.   

But the best part of the morning, in my opinion, was watching Sam and Ben enjoy their common sport in between the games. 

One Year Check-up

On Thursday, Grace & Graham had their one year check-up. They are both healthy and very much in line with singleton babies. The only painful part was the end of the appointment when they each had to get 5 shots + a heel prick. Thank goodness that Sandra was there with me! Their stats from their appointment are:

Grace
Height – 30”
Weight – 22 lbs, 2 oz
Graham
Height – 30”
Weight – 21 lbs, 12 oz

G&G's 1st bike ride

Daddy's Little Girl

Birthday Party Time

Yesterday, we celebrated Ben, Grace & Graham’s August birthdays with two parties.

In the morning, we ran, jumped and climbed all over Wonderwild in honor of Ben’s 3rd birthday.

After naps, we had our families over to celebrate Grace & Graham’s 1^st birthday.

Thank you to everyone for coming to Houston to celebrate such a special day. 

We love you all!

Twins: Siblings & Friends for Life

I can’t help but smile when I see Grace & Graham playing together in their room.  Love, love!

Wrestling or Hugging?

Ben’s favorite past time is wrestling with the babies.  They laugh and think it’s hilarious so it just encourages him to do it more.  On Monday, Ben kept wrestling Grace to ground.  She’s tough and loves it, but I eventually started to get nervous that she was going to get hurt.  So, after a few minutes I asked Ben to please stop wrestling with Grace.  Without missing a beat, he replies: Mom, I’m not wrestling her…I’m just hugging her on the ground.  I'm not sure if Grace sees it that way.

Ben's 1st Day of School: 3 Day Threes at SLDS

Yesterday was Ben’s 1^st day of school at St. Luke’s Day School.  He’s in the 3 day threes with Ms. Harris and Ms. Hetzler.  He was a little sad when I left him (I guess he got used to being with me since he literally spent EVERY SINGLE DAY with me for the past 6 weeks), but was beaming when I picked him up.  He created a beautiful painting, played on the “big boy” playground (it sounds like mostly in the sandbox), sang songs and read books.  It was a successful day and he was very excited about getting back school this morning.  I think it’s going to be a great year for Ben at SLDS!

We LOVE to eat!

Grace and Graham will pretty much eat anything that you put in front of them right now.  They love strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, pasta, broccoli, cheerios and crackers. But, without question, their favorite meal is black beans, rice & chicken.    

Too many kids in the bath!

One day our kids will kill us for taking these pictures (much less posting them on a blog for loved ones to see)…but I had to since my time is limited in having a quick & efficient bath time each night.

There is not one inch left to put a body or toy, so the older boys are about to be kicked out for a little shower time each night. Grace (who has always maintained her own space in the “princess chair”) could care less about having the older boys in the tub for bathtime, but Graham is going to miss having Ben around.

Ben is 3!

Happy 3rd birthday to our sweet Benjamin!

As I sit on the couch starting this blog entry, I hear Ben banging around in his room (it’s 9:45pm!). I go in to find him playing with all of his birthday presents. As I enter the room, he says, ”I don’t want you to take away my new toys”. Only when I promise not to remove a single item does he agree to get into bed and go to sleep.

This is probably the 1st birthday that Ben understands that today is a celebration about HIM. For the most part, I spent the entire day focusing on his wants and desires. We ate Chuy’s for lunch and Chick Fil A for dinner. He picked out a huge fire truck balloon at a party store and played for a long time at our neighborhood park. When Sam got home from school, they played and played with all of his new toys. He enjoyed a push pop (lunch) and a slice of cake. I hope it’s a day that he will look back on fondly for years to come.

Happy birthday, Bud! I feel honored to have spent the entire day with you.

Graham WALKS!

The entire house cheered when Graham took step after step today.  We're so proud and you can see from his expression (permanent grin) that he's thrilled as well!  Go sweet Graham!

Kindergarten is AWESOME!

Kindergarten is awesome! Those were Sam’s first words when he saw us at pick-up this afternoon. During our very hot (but only 5 minute) walk home, he elaborated on his favorite things about his 1st day:

1.) Going to the cafeteria. He was sad he didn’t get to finish his cookie…but he consumed it quickly when we walked into the house after school.

2.) His teacher, Ms. Prater…she’s really nice.

3.) The Smartboard that they used to learn math on. He says, “Mom, we used a smartboard, not a chalk board, to learn today. Did you have a smartboard growing up? When I said, no…we had chalkboards he asks, “Was that before electricity?” I had to laugh but the question was because smartboards use electricity and chalkboards don’t. Fair enough.

4.) The Lincoln Logs station. He built a tower.

5.) He made a kissing raccoon based on the story “The Kissing Hand”.

6.) He played soccer on the playground. They had small practice goals for the kindergartners to use.

7.) He loves that his lunchbox can hook onto his backpack.

8.) Science. He learned how to use his ears, eyes and nose.

9.) Fire drill. He thought it was great that ALL grades evacuated to the kindergarten playground.

10.) And finally, he LOVED walking to Mark Twain Elementary with Dad, Mom, Ben, Grace & Graham.

What a successful first day!

Beach time...Galveston style

My Mom, Dad and Aunt Deta took Sam & Ben to Galveston a few weekends back.  The boys had so much fun building sand castles, fishing, eating at the Rainforest Café (not Ben), eating lots of pancakes and hanging out on the “pirate ship”.  The boys had such a great time!