Fun in the Front

You wouldn't believe this, but our kids actually get bored being in the backyard. I guess we don't have enough play equipment out there ;)

Jack's favorite place in the whole world is out front. Abby and Josh think it's pretty swell, too. Their usual routine is running to the garage door and wanting me to open it. Then they proceed to take out every single giant toy. After 5 minutes they realize that all they really want to do is run around.

So, we give in and as long as they do not run into the street, we are all very happy. Today, we bugged our neighbors for a bit. The Lanpher's usually have their front door open and the kids get to see the puppies (they are full grown dogs, but for years we have referred to them as "puppies").

This is usually a daily ritual

Something new: climbing the wall to see the flowers

Our pal, Darby

Abby, doing her best to pose for the camera

The boys collecting leaves

Mommy's little monkey

Abs showing me her leaf

The kids are getting so used to everyone. They all gave Darby a hug! We are so lucky to have the bestest neighbors/friends around!

Look Who's 2!

Seems like the past 2 years have flown by! I think the biggest thing that I have learned while raising multiples is that every child goes through phases. Just when I think that one is acting like a perfect little angel, they do a 180 and completely change. The one who used to be clingy soon acts independent, etc. Speaking of phases, Jack is going through a dousy. It's been well over a month since he has slept in his crib. He has made it through one night in his bed after he fell asleep and was put there. We don't know what is going on with him. I hope to get to the bottom of it when we go see the doctor for their 2 year check-up. I welcome any suggestions.

This also marks a full year in our renovated house. We still visit Grandpa and Grandma's house all the time and I think they still remember it a bit.

I still stand by my statement that our 2 dogs are more difficult than the kids. That may change as we enter the "Terrible 2's" stage.

Here's what they are up to:

Abby: AKA Popeye. When she gets upset and doesn't do a full cry, she closes one eye and scrunches her face. All she's missing is the pipe with spinach! Abs is still attached to her puppy and loves to give him rides in the stroller or shopping cart. Her fav food, by far, is broccoli cheese soup from Panera that Grandma Mary brings every Tuesday (quickly becoming my favorite day of the week;). Sometimes it is a struggle to get her to wear a dress, but after the mini tantrum ends, she is fine. I think she wants to be just like her brothers. Speaking of them, I think that Abby plays with trucks more than anyone around here. She also enjoys her Legos.

Josh: My big boy is going through an independent phase and just looks like a full fledged toddler. I look at him sometimes and can't believe how quickly he is changing. He is still trying to get away with things and Mommy is going to have to implement the "time out" chair. He still loves his foxes and his darn burp cloths. He is a trooper when it comes to going to sleep and often times will just lay down downstairs when he is ready for a nap. His appetite is still strong and he loves everything. I recently found him to really love fruit. Totally unlike his dad!

Jack: Have I mentioned Jack's new sleep routine??? I miss my happy boy. I think that this sleeping arrangement and the nerves and stress associated with it have taken a toll on my little guy. My dad says that he can see the sadness in his eyes. I do hope that this is just a phase and is associated with his molars coming in. Jack has been throwing many tantrums lately if he doesn't get his way. Throughout the day I see him losing his patience very easily. He still loves to cuddle and hold his Elmos and puppy. His favorite place is still outdoors. Jacky is obsessed with Abby's name and is always looking for a chance to say it. Speaking of her name, we have a joke around here that whenever you ask, "Who farted?" Jack always replies, "Abby". Yeah, she's not going to like that when she's older!

For their birthday, Grandma Mary and Grandma and Grandpa Piskor came over. We let the kids dive in and eat their cake and we opened presents. Here's some pics from the night:

The House With the Daycare Facility

The unwritten rule in our neighborhood is no fencing. I love this because it opens our backyard and makes a great place for all the kids to play. Chris had the wonderful idea of buying some cheap green fencing to install temporarily. I can't tell you how much this helped me. Before, I would take the kids outside and right away, 2 would run to the front while the other was content being in back. Since I can't clone myself, we rarely went back there. Now they are completely contained and enjoy themselves while I can breathe easier.

We decided that after the birthday party, we would greatly expand the fencing. As you can see, we have so much equipment that it gets a bit crowded. Add 2 dogs and it is just cramped.

Here are some before pics. I feel bad for the neighbors behind us that had to look at this every day!

After pics of new fencing:

And I couldn't resist posting these. Here are the two bff's Abby and Jack. Jack follows Abby around all the time. He kept wanting to hold her hand, but Abby was done.

Freimuth Bday Party

August seems to be the most popular month to have children! Today we went to our great friend's kids' bday party. Addison turned 3 and Alex turned 5. The theme was beach party and Jen had so many pools and water tables set up!

I didn't even bother dressing the kids in their bathing suits because I know how they are outside of home. Basically, our kids stayed right by us and even ventured out to the swingset. They are such observers. They loved watching all the big kids running around. And, of course, they loved eating all the yummy food!

They love their juice boxes!

Uncle Frank couldn't resist the photo op


Daddy and the kiddos

Jacky on the slide

Josh on the slide. Look how muddy he got!

Having some candy from the pinata. Doesn't she just blend in?

The assembly line of feeding

From the park, to our own park

Our backyard is looking more and more like a daycare facility. I don't mind because at least they play with everything! Here are some Kangaroo Climber pics. We purchased this from a triplet mom last year. Even though the slide is small, the area inside is cramped, they still love piling on there!


I just love hearing their laughs when all three are playing nicely. It makes this a lot more bearable!

Our Day At the Park

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day, so we just had to get out to the park and take some pics. As soon as we arrived, we ran into this problem. Does any park within a 25 mile radius of us have a park with 3 baby swings??? Don't the park people realize that maybe more than 2 babies, whether from the same family or not, want to swing at the same time?


So I took Jack and we got to swing on the big kid swings. Afterwards, everyone followed the leader around and around.

We found a cute bridge and let the kids run free, despite Chris's worrying! Abby and Jack were more than happy to just run back and forth.

Josh decided that he wanted to be the leader and do his own thing.

We went back on the trail and the kids wanted to try climbing the fence to see the golfers on the other side.

I then asked the kids to hold hands and my goodness, they actually did it!!! I took SO many pics. People were walking by and just laughing. How cute are they?

Afterwards we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. They love running around there and I think they kinda remember living there for 1 year.

You would think they'd be worn out when we got home, nope!

Aunt Vanessa's Graduation Party

Last Sunday we went to the river where Great Grandma Cleys was hosting a college graduation party for Aunt Vanessa. There was so much to do in addition to the river and pool. We decided not to deal with swimming this time because of all the prep that is involved (diapers, suits, parents in pool, etc.).

The kids had an excellent time and were super behaved. In fact, I received so many compliments and just comments on how calm they are. I attribute this to the new environment. But I also think in general that they are just laid back. Now I am not saying that it is like this all the time. Jack's behavior lately is proof. Anyway...

We started with a pic with Great Grandma Cleys. Abby would not leave my side and the boys barely cooperated. This was when we first arrived.

We then ventured outside. There was SO much food there including fruit and cookies. You know Abby was into that! Yes, I am a dork, Abby and me have coordinating outfits! I absolutely LOVE having a girl!

There was a bounce house! Since the kids tried this out at the last party, they were pros. Of course, Dad got in on the action!

Then it was time for lunch. There were a bunch of tables set up, but I just had them sit on a bench and did an assembly line. We had many people comment on how still they were. Hey, it was for food!!! These kids would do anything to eat!

Then it was play time again. Bags anyone?

And of course, cake! The kids just plopped down on the driveway with their own plate and fork.

Overall, I think the kids had a great time and really tired themselves out from running all over the place. Believe or not, we didn't leave the party till after 8pm! That's wayyyy past bed time. The only bad thing is that there were tons of mosquitos and the next day we really saw all the bug bites. Also, they were kinda cranky on Sunday. Oh well!