Look Who's Crawling......

Evie crawled today! I knew it was going to happen anyday now since she was up and rocking on all fours and taking a least 2 "steps." Then today, while visiting my cousin, she went crawling straight for her dog's water bowl! Then we got home, she crawled straight for the baby wipes. She loves grabbing them out. She is on the move now. It's only a matter of time until Mr. Presley does it now too! This mama better be careful! Yeah Evie!

8 Months Old!

I know I am late in posting this because the twins are almost 8 and a half months old already.....but time goes fast right? I actually took the picture today. In case you can't tell, they are wearng shirts that say "my first Cubs shirt." They both used to belong to Gracie and it so happens that one is pink and the other is blue. You know how I am running out of matching outfits and I'm pretty sure after their first birthday, that will be over. If you know or have seen any cute boy/girl matching outfits, let me know, I need to keep my eye open for their first birthday pics. Both Presley and Evie are doing well. Just the other day at the dcotors, Presley weighed in at 22 pounds and Evie was a little over 16! Actually Presley is just 4 punds shy of Big Sis Gracie now! Anyways, this picture was super hard to take. For one, Presley and Evie are getting mobile! I wouldn't say that they are crawling yet but they are scooting and rolling everywhere!

like here......

and here......

and here too!

But the exciting thing today was that I brought out this learning table and while they can't quite pull themselves up, I posed them up on the table and they loved it!

You know I was excited for the day to come where they could sit up and play and such but now I am not so sure. I thought the hard part (the infant stage) was going to be the hardest but I think that once these cute babies start cruising, it may be harder than I thought! I know it's never really easy but this mama better get her running shoes on!

Scrub-A-Dub-Dub, 3 Babies in a Tub!

This is a great day! I can now give all my kids a bath at the same time. Those of you with one more than one child know that it is a balancing act. I have what I like to call"systems" when I have to juggle things like eating, putting them to sleep, getting in their car seats, getting them all out the door and in the car, what I do when I take a shower, and yes, even bathtime. Gracie LOVES baths and so when I started putting Presley and Evie into the big tub, she wanted to come in too. So that was easy because 2 in there at once, I could get them both clean at the same time. But what to do with the other child???? Well, I would put the other baby either in the exersaucer or the jumparoo. That works fine and dandy and all but now that my twins are getting mobile, they don't like to be contained too much. They can handle it for a few but then they start to want out. Plus I always felt bad leaving the other one out. So then I would put them on the floor outside the bathroom with a pile of toys but that was a problem too because there are stairs within a few feet of that. How could I make my bath "system" work a little better? I was given a bath seat when Gracie was a baby. I love it. It's got an arm rest and everything. Well guess what? They don't make them anymore! Maybe they have been recalled??? Does anyone know? Well it turns out that my mom found one and a garage sale the other day! So now I can get all 3 kids in the tub at the same time. They all LOVED it! They can now splash together and play together. Gracie likes using the toys to squirt them and she draws them pictures and helps wash the babies. It is fun to sit and watch them play and not have to worry about one being left out somewhere. It makes it all SO much easier considering some nights I am home alone on bath night. But here is my next problem....How do I get a bigger tub?

The Children's Museum

Last week Chuck was on vacation so we tried to plan as many fun things as we could. Some of the things we wanted to do included having "Gracie time." So one day last week, we left the twins at home and set off for the Children's Museum with just Mommy, Daddy, and Gracie.

I had never been here before so I didn't know what to expect. The place is actually really neat. It is not that big so I'm glad I didn't bring the twins and the double stroller. We went to the Creativity Center first. We all had fun making pictures with these glow sticks. It reminded Chuck and I of the old light brights.

Whoops. Forgot to flip that picture.

Then it was off to the music room. Gracie got to play her favorite thing...drums!

We all had fun in the mirror maze. Gracie didn't know what to make of all the other Gracie's that she saw.

After a quick break, we kept going.

We went to the building area. They had all kinds of things you could use to build these ball slides, I guess you call them. I think Chuck had more fun building these than Gracie.

Giant Tinker Toys were next up! These were so much fun to build and Gracie wasted no time building herself a little house.

Then she went crawling in the tunnel with Daddy.

After that, we went over to the Bubble area. This was my favorite. They had all kinds of little tubs with bubble wands of all shapes and sizes. They also had this machine that makes the bubbles for you so you can see how big you can make the bubble.

But the coolest thing of all was this bubble booth. You actually stand inside this circle and pull on the string and it brings the bubble up around you so you are inside the bubble! I told Gracie she was like Glinda the Good Witch. She traveled by bubble you know!

After bubbles, we moved over to the water area. Gracie thought it was pretty cool that she could go inside this bubble and we could splash her.

Playing in the water was definately fun! Too bad we didn't put on ponchos they let you wear because we were soaked.

We moved over to the wind section next to dry off. We were amazed at watching the balls float.

Then it was time to go in the wind tunnel. But not before putting on the safety goggles.

It was pretty windy in there!

Then Gracie got to build something. And I mean, they had this construction area set up where there all these stations. Gracie got to pick out some wood and then get to work building with real nails and hammers and saws and stuff. It was pretty cool. Although Chuck did most of the work, she had lots of fun.

Here is what she made. She says it's a boat!

Finally, we did a quick see-saw ride before heading out to lunch.

It was a great day. We beat the heat and got to spend some time with just Gracie. She deserves it! It's hard having 2 little siblings. I think she had fun too. Until next time......

A Night at a Wedding!

This weekend was my friend Tracy K.'s wedding! I have worked with her for many years. She taught 3rd grade with us for awhile but then last year moved up to 5th grade. I know my team and I miss her and when she got engaged when she was still on our team, we made sure to ask her if we would still be invited to her wedding. Well of course we were. Actually lots of Wesmerians were. And if there is one thing we know how to do when we are outside of school, it's how to HAVE FUN!!!!!

Here we are with the beautiful bride, the new Mrs. Hood, which the joke is she should name her first baby Robin...ha ha! (Ignore the fat girl next to the bride, no idea who that is)

The ceremony itself was beautiful. It was at the Old Central Church in downtown Joliet. I think it's actually where Peter Brady married that girl from Joliet but anyways, it was nice. The reception was the Jacob Henry Mansion. It is this old beautiful house. There were tables set up in all these different rooms. You could acutally go and explore the house too and that's just what we did. Although we are pretty sure it's probably haunted, it was still really neat. So tables were set up all over the house to eat. Wouldn't you know that Wesmere had their own room! Here is Jason and Chuck enjoying some quiet time over some drinks.

And then the night got even more interesting when these 2 girls decided it might be fun to take the bows that were on the seats and use it to make a turbin! It drew quite the attention and needless to say, they were "cut off."

The night wound down as Chuck showed us his good 'ol country dance moves. I think the song might have been "mountain music" but I'm not sure. The wedding party was pretty impressed with his moves. I'm just pretty impressed that he kept his shirt on!

It was a fun night. It was good to be out and be with adults for once. I think everyone there had a wonderful time. Congrats Tracy and Rich! Thanks for inviting us!

Dana Day!

Today was what I like to call "Dana Day." Dana is a dear friend and old colleague of mine who moved away last year. I had the pleasure of teaching with her for 3 awesome years. She is and always will be one of my favorite people and here's why:

*She can ALWAYS make you laugh.

*She is always there for you. You know she will always sit and listen to you.

*She has the funniest stories ever!

*She is an awesome teacher.

*She had her students write letters to Shel Silverstein even though he is dead!

*She knows how to pump gas very elegantly.

*She can trick you into thinking she is talking to herself while sitting in her minivan.

*She proudly owns a minivan!

*She loves oatmeal more than anyone else I know.

*She was the only teacher I know who would stay at school till the wee hours of the morning.

*She could eat Subway everyday.

*She knows what it's like to be locked in a bathroom. In school. On parent/teacher conference day!

*She is James Taylor's biggest fan.

*She is married to Mr. President.

*And many, many more things.

I was very sad when she told us that she would be moving. SO many memories her and my team had together. She doesn't get back to visit much but when she does, you can bet we get together. Today was one of those days. My 3rd grade team and I brought all our kiddies and spent the afternoon chatting and catching up. These ladies that I work with are some of my best friends. They know more about me than most since I see them more than most of my other friends. I guess they are almost like my second family. And we have seen each other through such big milestones together like marriage and babies and grandbabies. Besides all the personal stories we share, they know what it's like being a teacher. Things like how "brilliant" students can be, how much fun it is when parents attack, the joys of guided reading, the creativity of lesson planning, what really goes on at institutes, how important handicap bathrooms are, and what happens when you don't take attendance. They understand the process of juggling work and kids, the matter of daycare, financial matters, and what our schedules are like at home. But what I like best about this group of friends is that most of us managed to have kids at or around the same time. It is so fun to compare stories and get tips and ideas for different things. It's fun knowing that our kids will always grow up together. Gracie, Presley, and Evie have great friends in Jackie, Olivia, Jake, Kyle, Jacob, and Luke. So I guess since I have to work, I'm glad it's with you gals, Patti, Holly, Andrea, Becky, and Dana, you will always be part of our team even though you are longer with us. It was great seeing you Dana. We love you!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

This is Gracie and today was my daddy's 35th birthday!

Here is what we did:

He and Mommy took me to see my first movie, Toy Story 3!

It was in 3-D so we got to wear the glasses.

I liked the movie a lot but after an hour in to it, I had to go potty and then I was getting sleep. I still managed to stay and finish watching the movie though.

Then, after some naps and dinner, it was time for cake and ice cream.

Then Daddy got to open some presents and Grandma gave him his very own Elvis phone! Elvis sings and dances when the phone rings. He loved it! I like it too. My favorite Elvis song is "Hunka Hunka Burning Love."

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Swim Lessons!

It's been a fun and busy summer so far. One of the many things I have signed Gracie up for is

SWIMMING LESSONS!

She had taken swim lessons the past couple of summers and loved it. So here we are again with summer #3 of swim lessons. We took them at the Ottawa Street Pool (OSP), the place where I spend many a summers lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons. The class is fun because the parents do it with the kids. It actually brings a tear to my eye because this may be the last swim class we do with her. Next year she will be big enough to go alone with the instructors! Sort of like her first "big girl class without mommy" that we went to yesterday. But that's a different story. Anyways, lots of pics were taken at swim lessons but I just decided to post some from the last class.

Here is our fam on the last day!

Gigi was still in town so she came too!

The parent/child swim class that we were enrolled in starts off in the "baby pool." The kids get to take watering cans and water different parts of their bodies. They also warm up by singing "wheels on the bus" while using the water as part of their motions. That is Gracie's favorite song!

Then it's off to the "big pool." Gracie always gets excited for that part. Here she is leading Daddy to the big pool.

Once in the big pool, the kids practice floats, glides, blowing bubbles, kicks and arm strokes. Gracie does pretty good although she does not like to go underwater. It's funny because now she likes to practice these things in the bathtub.

Of course there is still time for fun too. They still sing songs like "motorboat", "pop goes the weasel", and "ring aroudn the rosey." Gracie likes those songs too!

I think it's important that Gracie learn how to swim. I took swimming lessons for years when I was little. Being a lifeguard was such a fun job for the summer. You bascially get paid to get tan! I lifeguarded for about 9 years! Are you wondering if I ever had to save anybody? In all those years, I only had to jump in once. A little boy jumped off the diving board and I knew he was not a strong swimmer. Sure enough, had to blow my whistle and jump in with all my clothes on! It was a cold day that day so I had sweats and a sweatshirt on and when someone needs help, you don't have time to rip off your clothes! So yay me! I was a hero for that day anyways.

I also think it's important for Gracie to swim because thousands of kids die each year from drownings. And these drownings don't just happen in pools like this one, it can happen in a river, lake, waterpark, blow-up pool or even in the bathtub! My husband can't swim and neither can my dad. We used to have a pool in our backyard and I attempted years ago to teach them free of charge. Well, that was a bust. I couldn't get either one of them to even float! My dad still recalls the time I had him practicing the kickboard and then I let him drift out to the deep end. He freaked out and that was the end of that.

Enough about that, Gracie had lots of fun at swim lessons. The last day each child gets a report card and a freeze pop. So thanks OSP people. We'll see ya next year with 2 more!

Trip to Highland

This past weekend we packed up the 'ol minivan and headed down south to see my husband's family. We don't get to see them that much and the twins were ready to make their 2nd trip down there. They were all very excited.

We got to spend some time with Papa Weiss.

And Grandma Vicky too.

Daddy was very excited to see everyone.

We stayed with Uncle Frog and Aunt Christie. They have a "park" as Gracie would call it so we spent some time playing on that. Evie liked the swing.

Presley enjoyed it too much and fell asleep.

But Gracie played on it all day.

Then it was time for everyone to come over. Cousin Sydney came and played with Gracie. Gracie even shared some of her lollipops with Sydney.

And Presley had a ball playing with cousin Peyton.

Our neice Jordin came too. This was the first time at meeting her twin cousins.

Aunt Marcia couldn't believe how big everyone was getting.

Evie had fun getting passed around but Presley mainly only wanted Mommy and Daddy. (Mainly Mama though, he is a mama's boy.)

Gracie had fun giving Uncle Chad some hugs.

But she really had fun when we sang "happy birthday" to her and she got to blow out some more candles. Plus eat some more cake!

She even got more presents! That lucky girl! Uncle Frog gave her this cool shirt.

Towards the end of the night some old friends, Tim and Erik, stopped by to hang out.

And this was the last look I had of my husband before I decided to go to bed.

He still managed to get up and go golfing though with this brothers and his dad. It was a great trip and it is always good seeing family. Thank you Frog and Christie for letting us crash once again. Remember all you Highlanders, you are always welcome to come up to the city and visit us! See ya next time!