Due Date

Today was my official due date. Just imagine how many birthdays we would have had in October (not that Sept is much better, but at least all the Sept birthdays in the family don't live here in town, we'd have to eat cake for 2 months straight!)

The tiny four will be 8 weeks tomorrow and they continue to grow bigger everyday! Their due date weights are as follows:

Brooklyn: 7 lbs 15.5 oz

Gage: 8 lbs 4 oz

Westin: 9 lbs 8 oz

Kynlee: 7 lbs 10 oz

They are all controlling their head better and lifting and holding their heads briefly when on their stomachs. They are improving with their sleep patterns. Last night we went 6 hours between bottles (11pm to 5 am). They have had a couple of nights when one or more have slept 5-8 hours (the 8 hours was Westin). We'll see if this becomes a trend or if it's just a fluke! Everyone is becoming more alert and they are starting to pay more attention and make eye contact when someone is talking to them. It won't be long before they really start to respond to interaction and that is such a fun stage!

Now I have to share the game day pictures from the last Texas Tech home game that I have been too busy to post:

Brooklyn, Gage, Kynlee and Westin (Gage and Kynlee always have their eyes open)

Kynlee and Gage holding hands and "kisses" from Kynlee

A Day With Mommy and Daddy!

We celebrated Jackson's 3rd birthday with family and friends on Saturday and on Sunday (his actual birthday) Mommy and Daddy took him on an outing. He went bowling for the first time and he had a blast! He loved to yell "Gutter Ball" anytime Clint or I missed. I'm pretty sure he's his father's child (ok, I may have a little competitive streak myself too).

Analyzing his shot with Daddy


Jackson and Mommy

Yearly growth picture. We take his picture in this shirt every year so we can chronicle him growing into it.

Also before I forget, we celebrated several birthday's this past week. Papaw Hacker on the 15th, Daddy on the 18th, Aunt Kiki on the 20th (big 21st birthday, woohoo) and Aunt Jessica shares the spotlight with Jackson on the 24th (we forgot to get a birthday picture with the two of them this year which makes me very sad).Clint, Jackson and Papaw Hacker at the tailgate. The three birthday boys of the week!

Yes, Clint did get a whole 33 candles on his cake this year compliments of some very nice women who bring dinner EVERY monday! (oops I spilled the beans on his age. . . men don't care right)

Aunt Kiki on her 21st with the neices and nephews. Don't know that you can tell, but each child has a tiny martini glass. (Kiki bought them for the occasion)

Aunt Kiki's first shot ever, provided by her brother-in-law.

Somehow, this is the only birthday picture I got of Jessica :(

Happy Birthday Boy!

Jackson turned 3 yesterday! Hard to believe that it has already been 3 years. Time flies and each day is so precious. I don’t know where the time has gone and sometimes it makes me sad to realize that 3 years have come and gone, but then I remember a quote that friend has as the title of her blog, ”Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” I think this quote should be prominently displayed in the house of every mother (not that I have it displayed in my house, but I should). The past three years have been filled with joy, laughter, naughtiness (sometimes the source of the laughter) and fun. I would trade the last three years for anything and each birthday I am reminded how blessed I am that God chose me to be Jackson’s mother!

Sneaking icing off the cake before the guests arrived (Mamaw Hacker made it!)

We celebrated Jackson’s third birthday with a soccer party in the backyard. We threw some soccer balls, cones, a rebounder and a soccer croquet set into the backyard. Add a bounce house for good measure and you have yourself a very successful birthday party! The kids had a great time and we were able to visit with our friends while they played. I even took a turn in the bounce house with a friend! (Actually, believe it or not, Jackson managed to get BOTH of his grandmothers in the bounce house with him before the party started). Jackson was so excited about the bounce house. I got in with him when it was first put up and he said to me in a voice filled with awe and wonder, “Momma, who got this for me?” I told him I did and he replied with equal awe and wonder, “ Thank you Momma!” What a sweet boy!

Granna and Mamaw bouncing with the birthday boy!

Boys having a good time.

We almost couldn’t get Jackson to stop for presents because he was difficult to pry from the bounce house. Of course in true toddler fashion, we had one party goer that would not get in the bounce house for anything . . .until his mommy and daddy said it was time to go. Isn’t that just like a kid! J At least he got to try it out before he left!

The lone ranger who didn't want to bounce

Jackson was a very lucky boy. He received several new puzzles and games, a soccer net, a polar express train set, and some transformers (that he held tight to while opening other gifts!) His Aunt Kristy got him big boy underwear and when he pulled them out, the following conversation ensued:

Mommy: “ What is that?”
Jackson: “Big boy underwear.” (at which point he threw them to the ground while reaching for another bag and saying) “What’s in this one?”

This pretty much sums up potty training at our house. No interest and no cooperation!! Oh well, he’ll get there in his own time, and if not, we’ll have potty training boot camp!

So, Jackson at 3 years old:

Weight – less than 30 lbs (he may be right at 30 now, I haven’t weighed him in the last month
Height – I will add this when I measure him
Favs – trains, planes and automobiles; puzzles; transformers; SOCCER
Attitude – Lots of it and lots of personality too! Full of smiles and VERY observant. The kid’s hearing is a little too acute (no secrets in this house). He takes in everything and he continues to be a little perfectionist.
And to top it all off, he’s a great big brother! He wants to hug and kiss “his babies” all the time and he keeps tabs on them. He is very concerned if one is “missing”. What would I do without him to keep up with everyone:

Alright, now for cake pics! . . .

This is the best picture of Mommy, Daddy and Jackson I got that day. Oh well.

Blowing out the candles

Granna is always a great influence. Is there really anything else to say?

We were so lucky to have family and friends able to celebrate with us. We look forward to the next year as long as we survive it! I hear three is no walk in the park :)

6 weeks

The tiny foursome is now 6 weeks old and growing. Their 6 week weights are as follows:

Brooklyn: 6 lbs 14.5 oz
Gage: 6 lbs 15 oz
Westin: 8 lbs 4 oz
Kynlee: 6 lbs 8.5 oz

They definitely all have their own personalities and their own quirks.

Westin is pretty laid back overall, but the things that make him mad, make him REALLY mad. These things include: hunger, a dirty diaper (screams immediately upon pooping), his head touching the crib bumper and being wiped with a diaper wipe. He can scream with the best of them, but he can also sleep with the best of them and as you can tell by his weight, he doesn't miss a meal!

Brooklyn is very content. She doesn't fuss much and she's a great sleeper, but when you remove Westin from her crib (they sleep together) she is awake within a 3-5 minutes. He can scream in her face and she doesn't budge, remove him and she's awake! I feel sometimes like she spends the most time alone because she is so content to be in a bouncer or laying by herself. She is a good snuggler though.

Kynlee has the highest pitch screech ever. She's pretty quiet most of the time, but when she wants to be heard she lets you know. She tends to have the most trouble with her tummy poor thing, but she's sweet.

Gage is my grunter. He likes to be snuggled and held and when he wants something he squeaks (it kind of sounds like a pig).

They are all very lovable and huggable and we are enjoying every moment (except maybe the moments around 2 am:)

Five Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.

The first one says, oh my it's getting late.

The second one says, there are witches in the air.

The third one says, but we don't care.

The forth one says, lets run and run and run.

The fifth one says, I'm ready for some fun.

Woooooooo went the wind and out went the lights.

And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

I love this Halloween poem and now I have my very own five little pumpkins. Really it's four little pumpkins and one big pumpkin at our house now, but even the big pumpkin isn't that big.

After a successful adventure to daddy's work, we decided to head out with some friends to a very fun pumpkin patch on Friday about 45 minutes away. So with two vans, 5 adults, 5 babies, two 2 year olds, and a young girl, we set off! The weather was perfect and the pumpkins were plentiful. We took pictures and picked out carving pumpkins, as well as some to decorate the front yard for fall. The woman who ran the pumpkin patch gave us a couple of very big pumpkins as a baby gift!

Jackson's first trip to a pumpkin patch on Halloween. He was one week old.

Jackson, John and Katherine


Family Photo


Jackson and John

Gage, Brooklyn, Kynlee and Westin (5 weeks old)

Granna, Mommy and babies (Jackson was too busy playing with John to be bothered with this picture)

We enjoyed the photo-op, but didn't really enjoy the extra attention that I knew was inevitable, but hadn't had to experience yet. When we got to the pumpkin patch, there was another family there with a baby that was 7 weeks old. When they realized there were 4 of our babies, of course they were amazed. Everyone loves a newborn, so I don't necessarily mind the attention for the newborns, but the fascination with multiples will get old fast I fear. The family that caught sight of us didn't just say, " Oh wow how amazing. They're so cute" and move on, they followed us around. One of the men even took Kynlee out of Granna's arms and held her then started kissing her on the top of the head! I don't know what makes anyone think that is okay. Just because there are enough of them to go around, doesn't mean you can actually have one! Once we finally escaped and were taking our pictures (this was all we wanted to do, just like everyone else that was there), one of the members of the same family came up and asked if she could take a picture of our babies. I very nicely told her I would prefer not, but I appreciated her asking first. It would have been harmless, but I just wasn't comfortable with it and to be honest, if a stranger had asked to take a picture of Jackson at that age, I would have said no, so I think the same rules apply here. Other than the initiation into the fascination of multiples when in public, it was a very pleasant and fun trip to the pumpkin patch!

Aunt Kiki by the pumpkin bug (she loves old VW's so we had to get her picture with it!)

Does That Make Me Crazy?

So, on Thursday of last week, I decided that I would like to get out of the house. But I didn't just want to get out of the house, I wanted to get out of the house with FIVE children under the age of 3!!! I must be crazy!

I wanted to pack up my babies, like any other mom would do and go somewhere. . . anywhere. My mom was still here (she left saturday; sniff, sniff) and I thought we might as well give it a try.

Where did we go? Well, to daddy's work of course! We thought maybe we would brave Target after that for a couple of things we needed, but we didn't make it that far. We did however, stop at the aquarium store on the way home where Jackson became the proud owner of a "red raider fish" a.k.a a beta fish that happens to be red. I think he has been named "Tex" or possibly "Go Raiders". We didn't take the babies in there though. I stayed in the car with them while Granna took Jackson in to see the "Tank Fish". After that, the babies were hungry and we were tired, so it was back home for bottles and a nap!

At Daddy's Work

Behind On Pictures

Just a few pictures that I wanted to share. I'm having trouble keeping up with all the posts I want to make these days!Mamaw Hacker with Kynlee and Brooklyn

Jackson loving on Brooklyn

Mamaw Hacker with Gage, Westin and Jackson

Great Mamaw and Papaw Burns meeting the tiny foursome for the first time

Aunt Kiki with the four

Poppo managed to hold all FIVE !

Kevin (one of Clint's best friends and one of Jackson's favorite people) holding all five!

I could have overloaded you with so many more pictures and I will try to post some more in the coming days because I have some good ones (the ones I have time to take anyway!) It's hard to keep up, but I know everyone wants to see what's going on. Stayed tuned for pictures of the pumpkin patch!

An Heirloom In The Making

We have a gorgeous, dark wood cradle that my Grandpa Varner made for us when I was pregnant with Jackson. Jackson slept in it for several months next to my bed.

With four babies this go 'round, we do not have them sleeping in our bedroom (plus a couple of them are grunters and I would never sleep if they grunted right next to me all night long). However, it was still important that they use the cradle, so we moved it into the living room and we lay them in there during the day at times. They are fast getting too big to put them all in at once, but we did for a week or so in the beginning. The hope for this cradle is that all the babies in my family will use it, so one day we will pass it on to Jessica, Kristen or Jacob and all the cousins will take a turn in it. I'll admit that it will be hard to pass it on because it is so beautiful and I would love to just have it in my house, but I will share! :)

Here are picture of my kiddos using the cradle that will hopefully be used for many more years to come (just NOT by me)!

Jackson in the cradle at 2 weeks old (Nov 8, 2007)

Westin Kynlee

Gage Brooklyn

(4 weeks old; Sept 29, 2010)

GranDazzy

No, I am not completely crazy due to lack of sleep, this is our new catch phrase around here, courtesy of Jackson. Jackson is currently in a nonsense word stage which makes his mom crazy! I don't like nonsense words because, well because they are nonsense and apparently they have to be spoken at a much higher decibal than normal speech both of which make me want to pull my hair out sometimes. However, his most recent verbal invention was very funny and has caught on, especially with his Granna. It won't surprise me if we are still using this word in 20 years.

Yesterday, Jackson was having boiled eggs for lunch. He likes salt and pepper with his boiled eggs and when he asked for his second one, he wanted more salt and pepper, but of course he had to ask for it with a little more pizazz so he told his Granna," I want some GranDazzy." When Granna didn't respond immediately, he said,"Do it Granna, just put some GranDazzy on it." Like I said, it caught on quickly and now Granna can GranDazzy anything! Ha! I do love this one!

I Can't Hear You

Jackson has gone completely deaf. I am sure of it. He doesn't listen to anything we tell him to do and quite frequently does the opposite. I talked to the doctor about this and after extensive testing, it turns out he is not deaf. Diagnostic testing confirms that he is about to turn three and is testing the waters of his new life situation. Go figure!

Yes, my little angel is doing a little acting out. He has been so good overall since the newbies came home, but we are definitely testing the limits. He pushes the limits of bedtime (5 more minutes of a movie, I want you to pick the book. . . no not that one, and so forth and so on). He knows how to play his cards too. He always picks the person that he feels will be the most lenient or that he can play the best a.k.a Granna. Now don't get me wrong, he comes to me first before bed and asks me to read a story, etc, but as soon as I step out of line (i.e. don't give him what he wants) he runs to Granna and will sometimes actually tell me, "I'm gonna tell Granna." Now under normal circumstances, this is a brilliant plan on his part, and it still works sometimes, but because Granna is here so much right now, even she has become a little more strict. Poor Jackson no longer knows who to turn to in his time of need :(

I did have to laugh today (though not where he could see), when my stubborn little guy got himself in trouble. To be honest, I don't even remember what his original crime was, but Granna and I both got onto him. Then, lo and behold he decided to hit his Granna. Absolutely unacceptable, so he was told to go to his room. Well, at the time every adult in the room was feeding a baby and so Jackson saw an opportunity. He promptly told me,"No, I am not going to my room, I am going to stay out here." So I told him that he would be going to his room as soon as I was done feeding Gage. He continued to reply the opposite and informed me that he was going to play dinosaurs. Then he stomped off to his room. I yelled after him, "You just stay in there." To which he replied (and this is the part that made me laugh, even though it was very naughty)," I am going to my room to get more dinosaurs and then I am coming back out here." And of course that's exactly what he did. The situation was handled when babies were fed, but I can't help but laugh at the stubborness that Clint and I created sometimes. How many more of those do you think we have?!

Sleep Deprivation

We don't sleep much around here. I can't imagine why we find it so difficult to sleep, but everyone is suffering from severe insomnia . . . oh, wait, that's right we have four babies living at our house now!! We asked the NICU if we could bring them back for a couple of nights, but apparently they don't take returns (just kidding).

Some have more significant symptoms of sleep deprivation than others, but all are suffering. Let's play a little game. Complete the following sentence:

You know you are sleep deprived when . . .

-you head to Jackson's room with dirty baby clothes in one hand and Jackson's toys in the other and you leave the dirty clothes in his room instead of the toys. (Granna)
- two people come out at 2 am to help Mom feed babies and after discussing which is going to stay up and help, both head back to bed thinking the other is staying to help. (Clint and Granna deserted me at 2 am one night, both thinking the other was helping, Granna did realize this shortly and come help)
- you sleep through every alarm and baby cry the entire night and wake up at 8 am thinking it's 2 am and find out that you left everyone else on baby duty all night (Jackie . . . yes, I am guilty of this one)
- you seriously discuss whether or not Starbucks might be willing to deliver every morning if you explained to them that you just had quadruplets or maybe at 10 pm to help you stay awake all night (Granna and I thought this was an excellent idea)

And the win goes to Granna for the following:
You know you are sleep deprived when you put a used disposable diaper in the laundry and wash it with the other clothes!!!!