4th of July Fun

Hey friends, what's shakin'?

We had a busy holiday weekend.  Brian worked on both of our cars, changing oil and flushing a radiator (whatever that means!) and did lots of baseboard installing.  We installed new flooring in the laundry room and continued to put that back together a bit.  I sanded, primed, and painted the baseboards, and am now in the process of filling nail holes, touching up paint, and caulking seams.  And Brian even tackled our crazy weed jungle of a back patio.  So much productivity!!  All of which I will write about at some point.  Promise.

But we managed to squeeze some fun into the weekend too.  On Wednesday night we took the boys to a local fireworks show.  I decided that I was just going to snap a few photos of the boys and then enjoy the show and not try to photograph the fireworks, so I didn't bring my tripod.

Buuuuuut of course I couldn't help myself and decided to try it anyway.  

You can see the movement of my hands in the shakiness of the fireworks, but I thought they turned out pretty cool otherwise!  The shakiness of it actually adds to the interest, in my own humble opinion.  Next year I'll definitely take my tripod to try to capture them a bit more steadily.

On Friday we had a little cookout and did some fireworks of our own.  The highlight for the boys was throwing poppers all over the deck.  The actual fireworks we did were a little too loud for them.  Brian was like a kid in a candy store while lighting them off, so at least someone had fun!

We spent Saturday, the actual 4th at my aunt's house for my Mom's side of the family annual summer gathering.  As usual, there was a giant amount of delicious food and drink.  And the weather could not have been more perfect!  

Grammy brought playdough and my other aunt brought water squirters for the boys.  They had a blast playing with my cousin's little guy and squirting each other with water.

My aunt lives on a canal off of a small lake, so we took the opportunity to take a family canoe ride.  I won't lie, I was not excited about this at all.  I really, really don't like the unsteadiness of small boats.  I mean, this water was barely even waist deep and I still just hate feeling like I might tip.  But I sucked it up for all 4 of my boys ... and my shoulders paid for it dearly the next day.  Felt the burn!  Also?  Getting into and out of a canoe in a dress is not an easy thing.  

In case you were wondering.  

It was such a fun long weekend with my boys that I am shocked how much work we accomplished on top of it.  If only Brian could take 4-day weekends more often!  ;)

June 2013.

Oh June.  What a great month!  

First of all, I have to say that I've had a lot of fun watching Brennan grow & mature lately.  He is taking fewer naps, which provides for more one on one time with him while the Brothers are napping.  Some of the big favorites this month were puzzles and learning about volcanoes.  At one point he was "reading" a volcano book while watching a volcano video.  Brennan and I even had a nice little fro-yo date after a very, um, dramatic haircut for him.  It's nice to be able to spend a little one-on-one time with my biggest baby.  

My photografriend Lisa and her hubby have 3 kiddos - 6 year old twin boys and a 2 year old girl.  With as much traveling as we do and as many photo shoots they do on the weekends, we rarely have the opportunity to get everyone together.  But we took advantage of a free weekend in June and headed over to their house for a BBQ.  Brennan loves to play with the big boys, the littles love to run around together, and we parents love to be able to sit and chat while the kiddos run wild.  

Early June was filled with lots of normalcy.  The Brothers are starting to require timeouts on the regular, which just reminds me that they're quickly approaching ... 2.  They're still quite snuggly babies though.  I must admit that there are days when I'm just "touched out", but it's rare that I'll turn down a bedtime snuggle because I know that these moments won't last forever.

Brian filled up the pool in the backyard and the boys have had so much fun swimming and playing and trying to keep cool.  They love squirting each other with the hose and practicing their swimming techniques.   Mommy & Daddy are enjoying the ability to put our feet up and watch the fun with beers (and a camera, duh) in our hands.  

Father's Day was pretty laid back in our house this year.  The boys (and by that I mean "I") bought Brian a few small things.  We tend to keep Mother's Day & Father's Day to small, meaningful gifts, usually something that the boys make.

This year I found a great deal on a remote control helicopter and decided that it would be something that all 4 boys could enjoy together.  I hid it successfully in the bottom of my closet until 2 days before Father's Day when Brennan discovered it and yelled, "Daddy!  Look what I found!"  Brian smiled sheepishly at me and said, "Um, I think he found my Father's Day gift".  They all spend most of Father's Day enjoying the helicopter together and all-around enjoying the most important man in our life.  I always knew that Brian would make a great Dad, but I had no idea that he would be this amazing.  We are all so lucky to have him.

Much of June involved playing outside, getting dirty & sweaty, and taking baths to remedy the situation.  The boys love to draw with chalk, play hopscotch (kinda), ride their bikes and "fix" the cars.  Of course, Florida summers are pretty hot and the sun is intense, so we try to keep the outside times reserved for early mornings or evenings.  They also really love to be "naked" when they're outside, if you couldn't tell from the pictures.  We're totally that family.

Mr. Beckett looooooves to drive the car.  And Kiernan really prefers to ride shotgun, so there is much less arguing than I anticipated.  Whenever they drive around like this, I have visions of them in 15 years and my heart does little flip flops.  They're growing up too fast.    

As I said, bike riding is a favorite past time around here.  Brian recently found a great deal on a bike on Craigslist, so he has been biking to work occasionally to help build up strength in his leg.  Brennan's physical therapy has helped with his strength and it's becoming easier for him to ride his bike.  They've attempted a few father/son bike rides, but they usually only make it to the end of the block before turning around.  Baby steps ;)  The brothers love to get in on the bike riding action too, practicing on their trike or sitting on Brennan's big bike.  Kiernan's favorite part is wearing Brennan's bike helmet.

Uncle Cory came for a visit a few days before my birthday.  On Friday the 21st, we headed to the zoo for a few hours.  Since there were 3 adults, we decided to ditch the stroller and let the boys walk.  I think they really enjoyed the freedom, and it was much less chaotic than I imagined it would be!

My favorite thing about our zoo is the opportunity to feed so many of the animals.  The boys love the interaction with the deer, birds, and giraffes in particular.  It was such a great morning.

As it neared noon, Brian stalled and stalled.  He seemed to be taking his sweet time and the boys were getting hungry and tired.  So of course I was getting annoyed.  Then when we left he wanted Chick-Fil-A.  When I suggested we drive through and he refused, finally declaring that he wanted "4 to 5 fountain Cokes", I knew he had something up his sleeve.  I had no idea what it was, but I decided that I better just go with it.  Imagine my surprise when I was waiting for our drinks and my parents and sister walked through the door!

It was the greatest surprise.  I was over-the-moon excited to see them, especially George since I hadn't seen her since Christmas.  After lunch, we headed back to our house.  We chatted while Brennan and Brian played in the rain.  It was an awesome day!

On my birthday we headed to Brian's office for a cookout with our friends.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon.  My Mom & Brennan made me a cake and that evening we sang Happy Birthday and I opened a few gifts.  It was a wonderful birthday, and I have to say, 30 feels pretty good.

Sunday we headed to the beach.  It was nice to have lots of extra hands and the boys loved body-surfing. 

The difference in the boys' personalities is really evident at the beach.  While they all enjoy being in the water and playing in the sand, they each definitely have favorites.  Mr Beckett prefers playing in the sand, often under the shade of our tent.  He's a sand thrower, but luckily his favorite target is his own head instead of his brothers.  Kiernan likes to chase things.  I know.  Shocking, right?   Birds, waves, airplanes, people.  You name it, the kid wants to run after it.  On this particular trip he was having a blast pointing out all of the airplanes.  While he likes to play in the sand with Beckett & chase things with Kiernan, Brennan's favorite thing is to be out in the water with an adult (usually his Daddy) holding him and "jumping" over the big waves.

I can't even explain how much easier it is to go out to eat with more adults to help with the boys.  We seldom eat out at restaurants because A.) it gets expensive with our growing boys and B.) it's chaos.  So it's nice to have extra adults around to help control the chaos so that we can enjoy a meal at a restaurant now and then. 

Aunt George came bearing gifts for the boys and they kept her busy while enjoying those gifts.  She supervised time in the rice box sensory bin, helped with the painting kit she brought, and manned the pump for the airbrush kit she brought for Brennan.  Mommy enjoyed telling Brennan to "go ask Aunt George for help" while she was here :)

Of course, everyone got plenty of snuggles while they were here.  Each boy seemed to have a favorite person to stick close to.  Brennan had lots of fun with Aunt George, Kiernan loves his Grammy, & Mr Beckett wants nothing to do with anyone but Grampy.  So on the rare occasion that Beckett went near Grammy, we had to snap a picture to document that he does actually love her.

Going to the pool at their hotel was another HUGE hit.  Apparently I have 3 little fish.  It took Brennan a bit to get used to the pool and he insisted on wearing his swimmies.  I hadn't planned on putting swimmies on the Brothers, but had thrown them in the bag just in case.  When Kiernan saw Brennan's, he insisted on a pair of his own and wouldn't let anyone help him swim.  Beckett wanted a pair on too and required a little more assistance, but they all had an absolute blast in the pool.  It made me sad that they don't get to enjoy Grammy & Grampy's pool more often!

The boys also wanted to show Grammy & Grampy how we take walks around the block ... footloose and fancy free.  Brennan showed off his car spotting skills when we crossed the street and they all showed off their "Red light, green light" game.

It was so hard to see them leave, but it was made a bit easier knowing that Brennan and I would head to Michigan in a few short weeks.  What a wonderful way to end a great month!  

February 2013.

So.

Let's talk monthly updates, shall we?

It is now May, and I am just now sitting down to type out a February recap.  I'm halfway tempted to just say screw it and start fresh with May, but I haven't missed a month since December 2011 and gosh darn it I don't want to break my streak.

And remembering a few months ago isn't as hard as it will be when a few years have passed, right?  Right.  

OK, here goes.

February was … um, how do you say it?  Oh.  Yeah.  Chaotic. 

You're sensing a theme here, aren't you?

I guess overall it wasn't really that bad.  There were just a few weeks in there that I felt like I wanted to rip my hair out. 

It started out fairly normal.  We cleaned & organized the boys' play room, which stayed that way for approximately 4.2 seconds.  Oh well, it needed to be done.  Aside from that it was the normal amount of cuteness (a lot) and drama (a lot too).

 

Easter 2013.

Easter 2013 was ... weird.

It wasn't bad.  It was just different.

We woke up and found what the bunny had left for the boys - some nice, modest baskets with a few small toys, a bubble bucket, and a giant bubble jug.  I don't understand why society has turned Easter into Christmas these days, but with the exception of maybe a special year or 2, Easter is going to remain normal here in our little family.

Beach babies.

The weather has been a bit cooler lately.  Cooler, meaning I can go outside and not immediately break out into a sweat.  The AC is off and the windows are wide open and we can enjoy the nice breeze blowing through the house.  I live for this time of year in FL.  

Today we decided to head to the beach, just for a little walk.  At first, Brian pulled the brothers in the wagon while I made sure Brennan didn't try to go swim with the fishes.  

Buzz Lightyear + Splashpad + Dinos + Legos = lots of happy boys.

Today started like any other day.  No plans necessarily, just some things to accomplish around the house.  But Brian and I were both kinda feeling the itch to get out of the house and enjoy the nice weather.  We threw around a few ideas - the park, the zoo, the library.  Eh.  Nothing sounded particularly fun and exciting.  

Some friends of ours were visiting Orlando last week and mentioned that they enjoyed Downtown Disney for a nice little stroll, so I threw it out there as a fairly cheap possibility.  It's free to wander around, so we decided to brave the crazy shopper traffic and head over to Orlando.

On the way there they boys napped while Brian and I chatted.  As we got closer we noticed something in the sky ahead.  It turned out to be an (amateur?) skywriter writing "Thank U Jesus" and "Jesus Loves U" in the sky.  It was fun to guess what the next letter would be.  Kinda like Wheel of Fortune.

September 2012.

Sooooo I should probably write a September recap post before it's time to write one for October, huh?

Clearly, life has been BUSY. 

We had Beckett & Kiernan's birthday party on September 1st.  I had so much fun planning it and the day turned out beautifully.  A few days later, I headed to Michigan for class while Brian stayed home and had a blast with the boys. My heart was broken when I found out that my first day ofclass was on the twins' first birthday.  That morning was pretty rough for me, but the day shaped up pretty well.  I was able to Skype with them and then celebrated "Happy-one-year-of-not-being-pregnant-to-ME!" with my fam and my BFF.  Carrot cake, wine, and great company.  Delightful. 

We took Beckett and Kiernan for their first haircuts on September 9.  They both did AMAZINGLY well.  We were worried about Kiernan sitting still and warned the stylist about it.  But of course he made a liar out of me by behaving like a perfect angel.  All 3 boys looked so handsome with their new do's.

Where the wild things are.

One of the things I love about where we live is how close we are to a big, giant park.  It has beautiful trails, a few ponds, a disc golf course, and a playground, among other things.  On Sunday we decided to get the boys out of the house and into the fresh air to try to air out some of their nasty head/chest cold germs.

See this?  Only picture you'll see of Brennan less than 5 feet away from the camera.  He has NO time for pictures when he's at the park.  It's all business.

The terrible, horrible, no good, completely suck-ass day.

That's the title of that kid's book, right?  Yeah, that's what I thought.

If you follow me on Instagram (@imflyingsouth), you had the pleasure of seeing this gem the other day:

Honest to God, it was one of the craziest days I've had in awhile.  The kind of day that 9 months ago, before therapy and Paxil, would have left me crying in the corner with a beer in my hand, on the phone with Brian begging him to come home.  Can we just pause for a moment and celebrate the fact that now when I have one of those days you can find me in the middle of it all, laughing (and wishing I had a beer in my hand, but I'm off the booze til after my race ... sue me, I like my beer), on the phone with Brian telling him that it's no problem that his boss wants him to stay late?  Yeah, I've come a long way.

No but really, what DID I do with my time before I had kids?

It was 8:00 p.m. on a Tuesday night.  Brennan was in Michigan with my parents and Beckett & Kiernan had been tucked into bed for an hour.  The dishes were done, the house was picked up, and Brian had just returned from a run with the dogs. 

As he sat there and stretched, he turned to me and asked “What do people without kids do?” 

I stopped.  After thinking for a moment I replied, “ Honestly, I don’t remember.” 

I remember thinking I was busy before I had kids.  I remember feeling stress over not having enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that needed to be done.  My nursing job allowed me to work (full time) 3 nights per week.  My house was messy.  I wasn’t in school.  And yet I still felt terribly busy.  I knew life would get busier once we had kids, but it wasn’t easy to wrap my brain around just how busy it would be. 

Brennan's big adventure.

::peeks sheepishly to the left and right::

Hello?  Anybody still here?

To say life has been busy lately would be an understatement.  It's swirling around me and I'm trying desperately to keep my head above water.  Not in a bad way, just in a "Dear God, this parachute is a knapsack!" kind of way.

But this past weekend was a great break from the chaos.  My parents came into town for a visit.  We spent time in the pool at their hotel, at the beach, relaxing at our house, playing at the park, and going out to eat ... a lot.   More than anything we just spent lots of time enjoying each other's company.  I love to watch my boys interacting with their grandparents.  It's such a special relationship to watch form and grow.

Kiernan, Grammy, Brennan, Grampy, & Beckett

Life with 1 year old twins and an almost-3-year-old ... otherwise known as my attempt at organized chaos and staying sane.

My dear friend Lorryn recently wrote a "Day in the Life" post about the changes to their family routine now that she has started to work full time.  Their little family is thriving after this change and it's delightful to hear the excitement in her voice when she talks about their life.

Her post got me thinking that I haven't done a "Day in the Life" post in a loooooong time.  Last November, I described the complete shit-storm (literally and figuratively) that we called our life when the twins were 9 weeks old.  And in March, I wrote another post about the semi-organized days of life when the twins were 6 months old.  I could have sworn that I wrote another post this summer, but looking back I probably decided not to because it would have looked the exact same as the March post, minus the nursing and pumping.

Now that we have survived the first year of life with multiples, life has become easier and more enjoyable.  It's still not easy, it's just a different kind of chaos.  Somewhat more manageable. So here's what life looks like in our house these days....

July 2012 ... the epic novel.

I probably say this every month, but July was a complete and total blur.  Mostly because we were gone for the majority of the month, but also because it was BUSY.  I was going to write a post about vacation and a post about the rest of July … until I realized that the July post would go something like this: we packed, we left, we came back, we were all sick, we unpacked (kinda), we were all still sick, the end.

So in an effort not to bore anyone to the point of poking themselves in the eyeballs and sleeping on their desk in a pile of drool, I'm just putting them both together.  One nice, long post.  You're welcome.

The first week of July consisted of laundry, packing, laundry, cleaning, packing, laundry … you get the idea.  My uncle passed away fairly unexpectedly, so we decided to leave on Thursday night instead of Friday night as originally planned so that we could make it for the funeral.  Brian went into work for a bit on the 4th so that he could get some work done before leaving.  And I packed. 

Flying solo.

Well, I did it.  I survived an entire weekend without my boys.  And you know what?  It was great.

I missed them like crazy and my arms often felt empty, but I managed to have a wonderful, relaxing, fun weekend with my family.

All 3 boys woke up early Friday morning, just in time for me to squeeze them one last time and kiss them goodbye.  Timing at the airport was perfect, the flight was smooth, and I was actually able to relax and read a book.  I forgot how easy it is to travel without kids!

My Dad picked me up and we grabbed a quick lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant and ran a few errands.  I was lucky enough to find a new pair of shoes to wear to the wedding on clearance.  Cute + cheap = right up my alley.  We headed home to say hi to my little sis, then I headed to get my hairs cut by my friend Stephanie.

Spoiled.

My children are SPOILED.  

We are so lucky to have amazing families.  They love us and support us through everything.  And they also spoil our kids rotten.  

It started early.  Soon after we told our families we were pregnant the first time, we had baby clothes and accessories pouring in.  We didn't find out the gender of the baby for that pregnancy, so we amassed quite the collection of ducky-themed outfits.  When we called our families at 7:00 a.m. to tell them we'd had a boy and that they could come meet him at noon, they came bearing gifts.  By the time Brennan was a week old, he had enough clothes to last him a year. 

Grammy, Grampy, TT went?

My parents and sister Teresa (or TT as Brennan calls her) came to visit last week, and with family visits come massive amounts of pictures.  Mostly because I don't let anyone out of my house before stealing the pictures from their cameras.  It's like a fee for spending time with my children.

Anyways, we had a very busy and insanely fun week.  I was so.flipping.excited for their visit, I could hardly contain myself.  (I should pause to say that the only thing that was missing from the trip was my little sister Michelle.  You know, in case she reads this and gets all "Everyone always has fun without me, why am I left out of everything, my life sucks" on us.  Miss you George.)  They flew in on the Monday after Easter.  I was shoulder deep in a pile of laundry when the boys physical therapist showed up.  After a nice therapy session, I put the boys down for a nap while frantically stalking my phone to see when they would be on their way over.  They waited til I had both babies down so that they wouldn't disrupt nap time because they're incredibly thoughtful.  Well, either that or my Dad needed to get his Chick-Fil-A fix before heading over.  It was probably the chicken. When they walked in the door, Brennan was in the middle of opening a giant box of Easter presents from my aunt and uncle.  But he was thrilled to see them.  Grammy, Grampy, & TT trump presents ... but only for 10 minutes.  Then it was back to the presents.  We spent the afternoon catching up and relaxing.  The boys all got the life squeezed out of them and their cheeks kissed off by Grammy.  

March 2012.

March was a great month.  I would say it was busy, but busy seems to be our normal these days.  We started out the month with a trip to the beach.  A group of friends from work were getting together for a going-away beach BBQ and we decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to take the twins for their first big beach excursion.  It was a ton of fun and we learned that one of the secrets to having a successful beach trip is to have plenty of extra adults around to hold babies.  That and shade.  Shade makes 4 hours at the beach manageable!  The babies got to dip their toes in the ocean for the first time and Brennan was in absolute heaven playing in the waves with his Daddy.  He even got to boogie board a bit.  Mr. Beckett loved the beach and I have no doubt that he'll grow into a beach bum like his big brother.  Kiernan was a little more skeptical, as the sun and the wind were a bit much for his sensitive eyes.  But after he had some time to adjust he loved wiggling his hands through the sand.

Gase Family Weekend

Who's ready for 293487239 pictures of my insanely adorable children????  If you're not, you might want to skip this post.  Seriously folks, it's not for the faint of heart.  I made some painfully cute boys.  And I'm not partial at all.

Brian's family was in town this past weekend.  His sister turns the big 3-0 this week, and her hubby decided to throw her a surprise party.  So Brian's parents flew in to celebrate and came in a few days early to spend some time with us first.

Life as we know it.

I was talking to someone the other day about a typical "schedule" for a 3 month old.  I knew that I had written a "day in the life" post a few months ago and when I went back to read it, so many emotions came rushing back.  In one sense I'm so proud of how far we've come.  The boys were 9 weeks old when I wrote that post, and I remember life feeling like chaos.  My help had gone home, the twins were still tiny, and Brennan had just barely turned 2.  In those days, I told myself that as long as all of my kids were fed, dry, and provided with a moderately clean living environment, that's all that mattered.  As hard as that was for me to swallow, I learned to accept it.

Fast forward to now.  The twins are 6 months old.  Brennan isn't quite 2 and a half, but he seems to have matured so much.  Our days have the same "bones" as they did in November, but the "meat" is different.  It still feels like chaos, but a controlled chaos.  Sure, some days are just bad, especially lately with Beckett's sleep issues, but for the most part, we're getting this down.  And it took reading that post for me to feel that way.  Yes, I can do this.  I AM doing it.

Most parents of multiples will tell you that you just need to survive the first year.  Just.Survive.  Most days I feel like we're surviving.  And some days, I even feel like we're thriving.

I want to write down another day-in-the-life post.  I want to have something for my future self to read in a few months so that I can see how far we've come again.  And I want to have something my future self can read in a few years and look back and laugh at.  And something that my future self can read in a few decades and dream about the days when my boys were babies.  And if another twin mama happens to get an example or a sense of reassurance or even a sense of superiority, that's a bonus.

Here's a peek at what those surviving days look like.

6:30-7:00 a.m. - The babies start to wake up.  I get the coffee going and bottle feed Kiernan (and nurse him if he'll have me).  When he's done, I nurse Beckett.  Commence baby playtime (which is includes physical therapy exercises).

7:30-8:00 a.m. - Brennan wakes up.  I get him his milk and get in a quick pumping session while enjoying my coffee.

9:00 a.m. - Time to start soothing babies to sleep.  While Brennan is watching Mickey Mouse, I head to the nursery with Kiernan.  He drinks his bottle fairly quickly and we rock in the dark room.  He goes into his crib awake and I give him a few minutes to fall asleep on his own.  Meanwhile, I make Brennan some breakfast and strap him into his high chair to eat. Usually by now Kiernan is almost out and I head to the nursery with Beckett.  He drinks his bottle and falls asleep in my arms.  I put him in his bed.

9:30 a.m. - Get myself and Brennan dressed.  Make and eat oatmeal.  Playtime with Brennan.

10:30-11:00 a.m. - The babies start to wake up.  I bottle/nurse Kiernan and nurse Beckett.  Playtime.  Maybe head outside to get some vitamin D.

12:00 p.m. - Lunchtime for Brennan.  Pump time for mom.

12:30 p.m. - Get Brennan ready and put him down for a nap by 12:45-1:00.

1:00 p.m. - Time for babies' afternoon nap.  Same ritual as morning nap.

1:30 p.m. - Lately I've been jumping on the treadmill before or after I eat a quick sandwich.  Some days I clean.  Every once in awhile I'll treat myself to a nap.  Sometimes I pump.

2:30-3:00 p.m. - Babies start to wake up.  Bottle/nurse Kiernan and nurse Beckett.  Baby playtime.

3:30-4:00 p.m. - Brennan wakes up.  Snack time for him.  Pump if I'm lucky.

This is where I start to follow baby cues.  The evening can go one of 2 ways - either the babies cat nap for about an hour at 5:00 p.m. and go to bed around 8:00 p.m., or they're still going strong at 5:00 and I just put them to bed for the night at 6:00 p.m.  More often lately, they've been out for the night at 6:00 p.m.  And when this happens, they usually sleep all the way through the night.  YAY!
6:30 p.m. - Brian gets home.  Dinner.

8:00 p.m. - Get Brennan ready for bed by 8:30.  Bath, PJs, brush teeth, read books, etc.  Brian usually does this while I start cleaning the aftermath of the day.

9:30 p.m. - Toys picked up, dishes done, bottles washed.  Collapse on the couch.  And then pump.

Of course, this is a perfect world scenario.  Many days are different.  But it all gets accomplished one way or another.  I keep reminding myself that it's only temporary.  And that one day I will look back and laugh and miss the days I got to spend snuggling my babies all day long.

February.

February was another laid back month.  We settled into more of a routine and it felt pretty good.  This new routine includes parties with our company friends.  Every time we go to a party or I grab a drink with the girls, I thank God that we were plopped into the middle of a great group of people.  The stress of moving to a new place is eased by having ready-made friends.

It's been an unseasonably warm winter ... which sucks.  I'm craving jeans and hoodie weather.  But it's been nice to have the boys out and about to enjoy the warmth.  We spend days outside enjoying the sunshine.  Brennan loves to help Brian work outside and we've made a few trips to the park, where Brennan was able to run and play and the little ones were able to enjoy the swings.

Brennan enjoying a cool, rainy day in the back yard

Helping Daddy wash the car

Little boys enjoying the sunshine

Brennan started swimming lessons again.  That boy is a fish and loves every opportunity he gets to hop into the water.  He really progressed a lot this month and is paddling, kicking, and blowing bubbles like a champ.

We were lucky enough to have another visit from Aunt Jen and Uncle Brian.  They were in town for less than 24 hours (on their way home from a cruise) and stopped to spend some time with us.  We played games all afternoon and drove up to Titusville to have dinner with Brian's parents.

Beckett & Uncle Brian

Aunt Jen & Kiernan

Brennan in the kids' play area at the BBQ restaurant

My dear friend Laura offered to watch the boys so that Brian and I could spend Valentine's Day together.  We grabbed a quick dinner in downtown Melbourne and saw a crappy Underworld movie.  The movie was terrible and the dinner was mediocre, but spending some alone time together outside of the house and away from kids, work, and chores felt great.  It's times like that which remind me why I love him, other than his superior clothes folding skills and ability to feed a baby and chase a toddler at the same time.  

On "Fat Tuesday" we took the boys out for some all-you-can-eat ribs in honor of Daddy's giving up meat for Lent.  While tucked into our own little corner of the restaurant, we had several people come over and make small talk.  I very often feel like a circus side show when out in public with all 3 boys.  The questions and comments are always the same -- "Twins? Aren't they the cutest!?" and "Oh my, you have your hands full!"  But aside from the gushing over how adorable all 3 boys are, this time we had several people comment on how well behaved all 3 of them are.  It felt good to hear that maybe we're doing something right with our kiddos.  It was music to our ears and fuel for our nerves.   

March will be more of the same routine.  Swim lessons will be swapped out for beach days.  We plan on taking Brennan on a "date night" to see the Lorax movie.  I'm starting ballet lessons for exercise and to get out of the house.  We might have a visitor or two for a long weekend.  Some things are new, but many are the same.  This place, this life, is finally starting to feel like home.