Spring Catch-Up

Spring is here and we're loving the longer days and the warmer weather.

Rob is back to a full school schedule- since he took the "split" option, the last 3 quarters were a reduced course load and it was awesome- but now he's back to being gone until dinner time every weekday. He was offsited to a clinic in Gresham for his internship, and he loves what he does. He always seems to have lots of exams to study for, and school keeps him pretty busy.

Best dad with his three look-alikes.

I am actually feeling pretty good about how our days are going! I'm back to going to the gym in the mornings. It's definitely a challenge getting all of us there, but I love getting out of the house each day; it really helps me feel like my days have structure, and I like for the boys to get some social interaction. Mostly I think it feels good to finally be able to leave the house alone with all three. I sometimes wonder how I must look during the process of loading and unloading two car seats, a stroller, and a toddler, trying to keep Collin from running off into the street while pushing a gigantic double stroller (and just hoping someone is there to open the door for me everywhere I go), and I get a lot of "You have your hands full!" comments. And that's just getting from the car to the door of the building. (Actually, just thinking about it stresses me out a little bit- I still have a little anxiety about going places!) But it's starting to get easier and after a successful trip, I feel awesome (and exhausted).

The weather has been nice lately, and whenever we head outside to take a walk around the complex, we almost always run into friends. The other day, we went outside and we didn't see anyone out there. Right away, Collin started saying "Where are you, Collin's friends? Oh no, everybody gone!" and he was sad when I told him everyone was probably inside. (Fortunately, we turned the corner and found some friends after all. We're so lucky to have so many good friends living so close!) Collin says the funniest things and he's speaking in sentences more and more. My favorite is when he quotes movies. Lately, it's the bad guy affirmation from Wreck-It Ralph. We haven't put much effort into potty training yet, but he'll pee on the toilet and when he's done, he says "ta-da!" I have no idea where he got that. He is a mommy's boy lately, and is always climbing on me, especially when I'm changing babies' diapers. When I put him to bed and ask how many kisses he wants, he says "Yots of kisses, yots of hugs!" This boy is so, so sweet.

The twins are already 6 months old! (Side note, we survived the first 6 months of having twins!) They just keep getting cuter, I can't get enough of them! At their 6 month appointment, Elliott weighed 16lb, 5oz, and Truman weighed 15lb, 8oz. They definitely look very different to us, and I think Collin can tell them apart most of the time. We started feeding them rice cereal last week, and they have tried avocado. Truman got the hang of eating solids right away, but Elliott has been a little more skeptical. They are such content babies and they smile so easily. When they both look at me and smile or laugh, I can't even handle their cuteness. They roll all over the place, and they love books. When both babies are fussy, I can just start reading a book to them and they both instantly stop fussing and stare at the book.

Even though there are (many) parts of my days that are stressful with the constant demands of 3 little boys at once, my house is usually a mess, and I don't get nearly enough sleep, just writing about my boys makes me feel like the luckiest person in the world. Those little faces bring me so much happiness, and all the difficult moments are so greatly outweighed by the good ones- the ones that include "yots of kisses, yots of hugs."

Elliott

Tru

This picture was from February

Morning snuggles

Collin loves his brothers so much.

He always likes laying down with them on the floor

Matchy hats! These were Christmas presents from the Ottos :)

We called it "Fort Collin"

Don't you just want to snuggle these babies?!

Super Collin! This is one way he helps us with our workouts.

I had to take a picture of their cuteness from my view while I was reading to them. They were just staring up at the book, arms linked. 

Most precious thing.

Elliott Beau

Truman Miles