Outdoor Fun

Earlier this week I mentioned our snowman we had fun making together, who is still thriving thanks to the lovely frigid weather we have had. I forgot to mention we have 3 little stinkers who LOVE to throw snowballs and have snowball fights; Dylan being the most active in that camp. Check out our video above for a clip from the outdoors.

We can read!!

I just had to post a quick update on our homeschooling progress because, as a mom and their teacher, I AM JUST SO PROUD!!! Last week, we opened up our first "Pre-Books 1-3" and mustered our way through them based on the letters/sounds we have learned so far. Let me tell you, my patience hat was on SUPER tight last week and I am glad we all survived with little to no injuries, as least physically. Today, we sat down and read through the first official "Story Book 1" and Lindsey, Taylor and Dylan were ALL reading it to me!!! Tears of pride and joy rolled down my cheeks and their smiles beamed from ear to ear. I wish I would have set up a video camera to capture that experience. It was just WAY too precious and a memory I will never forget. They were SO excited and I was ready to burst from all the excitement!

After the Christmas season, we plan to dive into "Handwriting Without Tears" and pre-K mathematical lessons in addition to continuing on with our phonics program. It should be interesting and worthwhile. The time we spend closely together in a fun, learning environment is time I will cherish forever and never regret. I am grateful to Dave for working so hard so that I may have this opportunity in the first place. Someday, I will pay you back, babe!! That's a promise!!

Sounds of Christmas - Part 2

This past Sunday was Part 2 of Camp Clark's Christmas concerts. This time it was at our church. Let me preface this post by saying, I love my husband dearly and have complete faith he is one of the absolute best camera men I know. Just not this time.

Of course, it didn't help that Lindsey was placed 5 down from Dylan and Taylor, and that Taylor was once again placed behind a taller friend. BUT, Dave insisted he "had it under control and had great zoom shots of all 3" when I kept asking if we should move to a more central location once I noticed how they were situated. If you look closely, you just might be able to see Taylor (1 person to the left of Dylan, behind the giant) and Lindsey (to the right, 5 people down from Dylan).

Anyway, I must say we are SUPER proud of our munchkins; they all sang really nicely (Dylan was the loudest and most dramatic) and did all the hand motions their Sunday School teacher taught them. The best part is , they had fun and that's really all that matters. God bless our angels and all the other little angels on the stage at KPT and at church PLUS their teachers who are full of patience & kindness.

Frosty the Snowman

Today was such a gorgeous day for being outside, finally!! We took full advantage of spending time outdoors and of course, we had to make a snowman. It was the perfect sticky snow and the kiddos were SO excited to make their first snowman this winter. So was Dave! In fact, the kiddos and I had our fair share of "creating" and decided to do some sledding. When we came back, Dave was still at it putting on the finishing touches (sculpting shoulders and arms). I believe our snowman is taller than any snowman we have seen; we even had some people stop and take a photo of them standing with our snowman. Let's hope Frosty sticks around for a few days.

4-Year Stats

Last week we had our 4-year well child check-up. Did I just say 4?? Oh my goodness, where has all that time gone? SO many memories gone by with so many ahead.

Lindsey takes the weight title at 34 lbs, barely beating Dylan at 33 lbs. Although, he's got her by a 1/4" in height; Lindsey is 39" tall and Dylan is 39-1/4". Lindsey is tracking along at 25-50% and Dylan remains around the 25% mark. Then there is our little peanut, Taylor. She weighed in at 29 lbs (5-10%) and we decided we are going to have a BIG "celebration" when she hits that 30 lb mark!! She is 37-3/4" tall and remains in the 10-25% category (when compared to other children - singletons). Our pediatrician was pleased with their health, development and growth progress but said we could increase Taylor's calorie consumption. Funny, she eats the MOST of all 3!!! She can shovel it in and eats anthing and everything; never picky, always hungry. So we went ahead and baked Christmas cookies with lots of frosting - nice excuse for the extra calories, right?

Recent Quotes from the mouths of babes:

Lindsey:
"Oh sure, mom!" (her infamous quote whenever I ask for her help)
"Dilly, I better call Santa and let him know you are being naughty"

Dylan:
Daddy asks, "Are you my 3 little pigs" (pretending to be the Big Bad Wolf).
Dylan responds, "NO! we are little stinkers"
At prayer time, mom asks who do we want to pray for and Dylan says "a big airplane".
When moms says, "let's try to pray for a person instead of things",
Dylan responds with "ok, how about the people on the big airplane?"

Taylor:
"Baby Jesus, don't worry, I make you toasty warm" (as she plays with our Nativity Scene)
"God's watching you!" (to Dylan when he tackles her to the ground)
"Oh, baby doll. You sleep now - no whining!"

Sounds of Christmas - Part 1

Aaahhh, the sounds of Christmas - young babes singing Christmas songs. We had a little better luck this year at KPT; no tears and a little more singing. Dylan was our shining star while Taylor took the oath of silence; Lindsey flashed her smile a few times and sang a few lines here and there. I guess it didn't help that Taylor (our little Peanut) was placed behind some kiddos that basically covered her up - kind of hard to shine when you can't see. It's funny, Taylor is typically the one to run around the house singing Christmas songs they learn at Sunday School and KPT to all her dolls. It's absolutely precious.

LTD get to sing again this Sunday at church (Part 2). Last year, LTD were placed front and center, the girls in angel outfits and Dylan in his lamb outfit. He cried 30 seconds into the production - poor little man. He had to be pulled off the stage and our Pastor got a kick out of it. In fact, Dylan was the topic of conversation at their weekly church meeting on Monday. Let's hope this year it is much more enjoyable.

This week is action-packed. We have been baking and decorating Christmas cookies, and have dates for the Holidazzle Parade, to visit Santa at the Mall of America, to see Disney on Ice, have the Erickson 5 over for holiday cheer, and to go to a birthday party for Baby Jesus. The kiddos are SO excited and really enjoying the beauty of the season.

Pump It Up!!

We want to pump (clap), you up! Anybody else remember the SNL skit? Everytime we go to Pump It Up, I giggle inside thinking of that goofy skit with 2 wanna-be muscle boys in their grey sweat suits & weight belts, pretending to be Arnold. Ok, so I am dating myself here!

Back to the point. The LTD addition were all healthy and the party went on as planned at "Pump It Up". They invited 15 of their closest friends and had an absolute blast!! The only downfall was leaving "daddy" in charge of electronics and getting to the party realizing our camera was missing the memory card. Cake (check), candles (check), party favors for our guests (check), Lindsey, Taylor, Dylan with clean faces, combed hair and no snot (check), electronics to document memories of a lifetime (oops, left that one minor detail to daddy). Thankfully, our friends offered to take a few photos on our behalf and we have included a few of those. More will be availabe in our KodakGallery photo album for Nov/Dec at the end of December.

Lindsey, Taylor & Dylan are officically 4. They keep reminding us that "they are grown up now and ready to ride the big kid rides at MOA and Valley Fair".

They truly enjoyed their first official birthday party where they got to invite all the friends they love to play with. The only "glitch" was when it came to gift opening which is always a struggle with Dave and I. We would rather people not bring presents since the real gift is having friends with parents we hold near and dear to our hearts there to share in our special day of life given to us by our Savior. But then again, is it right to rob a 4-yr old of their birthday joy? Such a struggle. Thankfully, we have friends who share in our dilemma and concerns around this issue. After all, 4 out of 5 families at the party were triplet families; the other family (Uncle Ken) is a family with 3 precious angels on earth (cousins Faith, Anna and Baby Jordan) and one miracle on the way.

Dave and I are just so very thankful for our children's health, their smiles & laughter, their unique personalities, and the love in their hearts. That night when we got home, they prayed for ALL their friends at the birthday party. I think they are starting "to get" how fortunate they are to have such wonderful friends in this world that care enough to be there for them on their ultra-important day. Thank you to all our friends and loved ones for the smiles you bring to LTD's faces.

Happy 4th Birthday, LTD!

It's hard to believe 4 yrs have passed by since that day Dave rushed us to the hospital at 4am driving 110 mph! Just yesterday LTD were still learning how to walk, talk, dance & sing. In fact, I just had to go back and capture some moments from their first birthday timeframe (oops, no video of their actual birthday celebration that first year; only photos). It's amazing how much these little angels have grown. Please God, can we stop the growing process and keep them this young forever?

We have already had 2 birthday celebrations with cake & cupcakes: one this past wknd with Papa & Grandma Good who were in town for the Thanksgiving holiday and one at KPT today. They also got a chance to go birthday gift shopping with Papa and Grandma Clark and had an absolute blast!!! Thank you SO much, Papas and Grandmas, for your love and generosity and to our entire family for the thoughtful cards, birthday calls & songs!

However, I am starting to believe Camp Clark has a birthday curse. Today I received a phone call from KPT at 11:30am telling me that Dylan was feeling sick and sleeping and that I should come get him. Poor little guy was singing so happily at breakfast and then, WHAM, the curse hit. Every year we have at least one child sick on their birthday - UGH! We are supposed to have a birthday party at Pump It Up on Wednesday night with all their little friends but may have to reschedule now for a later date. They are SO looking forward to it and will be really bummed but we can't take the chance of getting other children sick. Most likely Dylan's illness will spread to the girls as most viruses typically do at Camp Clark.