1st Egg Hunt

Wes and Elliot got our Easter stuff out of the attic the other day. Later, she came up and asked, "Will Daddy be here for Easter?" When I said no, she said "Well, maybe we can have an egg hunt with him before he leaves." I thought that was just the sweetest thing ever so OF COURSE we had to do it! It was so fun to watch Elliot try to explain to the boys how to find the eggs. Love these kids!

Little Engineers

All of the kids also enjoyed helping Daddy fix things (bikes, skateboards, etc).

Daddy's Helpers

Some yard work needed to be done while Daddy was home, everyone chipped in and did a great job!

Spring Picnic

Our Moms of Multiples group had our Spring Picnic yesterday. It was SO NICE to get out of the house and sit at the park for a while. I really enjoyed the fresh air and the time with my family! It was especially nice since W was home and could gowithus and carry everything that needed to be carried, load and unload the kids, push the stroller, carry my lawn chair, etc. :-)

Rainforest & School

I am absolutely impressed with the things Elliot has learned at school this year! This week their theme was the rainforest. I figured they'd learn about waterfalls, toucans, and some basic things. Tonight, she starts telling me about the parts of the rainforest and the animals that live in them. Here's what I learned from her (I totally googled everything to see if she knew what she was talking about!):

First, you have the Rainforest Floor. Then, the Understorey, where alligators, Golden Vipers, flamingo's, & cheetah's live. Next, you have the Canopy, where monkeys and sloths live. The final part she referred to as the Pavilion. I can't find much info. on this, but based on the details she gave me, I think it's what is also referred to as the Emergent Layer. Elliot informed me it's where the huge butterflies & big eagles live.

I seriously had NO idea that a preschooler could retain so many things!! I keep thinking "Did she seriously just tell me about the layers of the Rainforest and a Golden Viper?!?!"

Another thing: she tries to spell everything now. She refers to me as "M-O-M". My dad ask her how many of something she wanted and she responds "O-N-E". What size? "B-I-G". You ask what she wants to drink, the answer may be "M-I-L-K". Tonight I was typing an email with her next to me and she starts telling me half the words I typed. "That's says "little", that says "one", etc. etc. I had started reading lessons with her a while ago, but she hasn't shown interests in doing lessons with me in MONTHS! She is just learning on her own (and maybe at school).

Everyday during her quiet time, she writes everyone in the family loves notes. They really are adorable. She writes things like "Erin: To Mommy. I love you mom. Love Elliot." She wrote "Mimi AND Papa". I didn't know she knew how to spell the word "and." She then informed me she didn't. She said she remembered her "Pup and Pop" book had the word "and" in it, so she looked at it to spell it correctly. I can't help but think that was pretty ingenious! Love this girl!

Our Days

We've had a few fun playdates this week! Thanks to everyone on Spring Break willing to share some time with us!! The kids did some art with their friends:

Elliot and Levi decided to be adorable in the front yard:

We rolled Elliot's hair for the first time. WOW! Throw back to the good ole cheerleading days!

The boys LOVE to shave with Papa. For some reason he never shaves in the bathroom. It's usually on the back porch. Today, it was the dining room. Ezra ran over, pulled up a chair right by Papa and started saying "Shave."

All of the kids are into puzzles. The boys have mastered all the little kid wooden one's we have. We are onto floor puzzles for them. (With MUCH assistance). Today they decided to "help" their big sis.

Oh yah, I'm also 22 weeks along now:

Painting

My boys have not been into doing art, so I have not explored it too much with them. The other day, I told Elliot she could take the paints and some paper out and teach her brothers. It was a huge success! They loved it.

Ezra told me he was making a "SNAKE!" and a "flower." I thought it was cute that he was actually telling me about his designs.

Doctor Appt

Had an appt. It was nice to get out of the house :-) VERY nice! I had to wait over an hour for my appointment, and I really didn't mind. The change of scenery was good. Pretty much always wait over an hour for Dr. Gomez, but it's so worth it to me because I know he would gladly spend an hour with me if it was necessary. In fact, he did spend 30 minutes with us. He chatted with Wes, asked how he was doing, drew pictures to make sure Wes understood everything that was going on, etc. Baby's heart rate was in the 140's at first, then it did a flipper-roo and it was in the 150's. I finally weigh what a did when I got pregnant!!! From here on out I'll be in the positive's for weight gain!!

I had a dream the other night that it was a boy! Someone was looking at an ultrasound screen and said "Oh, and there's the penis." I kept having the feeling that it's a girl, so now I'm just confused! Guess we'll see in a few months.

Back to the appt: I don't exactly have much hope that bed rest will end anytime soon. Guaranteed at least one more month until my next appointments with the Perinatologists and Dr. G. Even then, doesn't seem likely. He also seemed very hopeful at the beginning of this (remember, I've had issues since 6 weeks!) that the clot would stop bleeding. Now, he said it could be likely that I bleed the entire pregnancy. Although the baby could still get big enough to apply pressure to clot off what's bleeding, the placenta is continually growing and changing too.

I have to start doing research on steroid shots for lung development. He suggested they would be given around 28 weeks. Anyone have experience with this? Know any side effects? Know any alternatives to the steroids? Since blood is an irritant and can cause contractions, that would be the most likely cause for preterm labor. However, if this did happen, the hope is still that the med's to stop contractions would work and baby would still be fine. I informed him that I will go full term and have a 9 pounder. I just have to let everyone know my goal :-)

I was challenged with another goal today: I should try to read the entire Bible during the next 19 weeks on bed rest. I really do NOT enjoy reading, so this IS a challenge. But, I like doing things that aren't easy and are beneficial in the long run. (I had to write this so you all can hold me accountable to it!)

My Kids Can EAT!

Almost every meal, I am AMAZED at the amount of food my children can consume. Wes is home for the weekend, and made a yummy chicken/asparagus casserole over noodles. When I walked up to the table, I cracked up laughing at the amount of food on their plates. It was a HUGE PILE! I don't even know if my pictures do it justice. Elliot ate about half, Leviate most, and Ezra ate EVERY bit of food on his plate! (He ate the little scraps off his plate after I took the picture). They very RARELY get an form of dessert, but how could I say no tonight?

Brothers Swinging

The boys were out in the backyard by themselves the other day. I was in the kitchen, and when I looked out, Ezra was very gently pushing Levi on the swing. It was soooo sweet! I know the picture is blurry, I tried to take it through the window screen because I knew if I walked outside they would immediately stop being sweet!

It was also kind of a sad moment-see, I didn't even know Levi was big enough to get up in a big kid swing by himself! I solely blame that on bed rest! UGH! I also caught Elliot swinging super high and pumping her legs the other day-another new skill!!