Moments Around Here: Daddy and Silas

One of the reasons we so love the house we are living in is that it is in a great location for students to stop by and has a ton of room to entertain. Last Saturday we had about 25 students and adult leaders over. We played games, ate, watched some NBA All-Star Weekend action, and the guys even braved the cold to play basketball on the court in our backyard. But inevitably during every get-together, we break out the XBox Kinect. If you haven't played, it is pretty amazing. And of course with high school students, Dance Central is a favorite. Silas loves trying to follow along, as you'll see in this video of he and Shane...

Silas was also playing Kinect in the last couple of pictures in my recent post about him. He had some Valentines money to spend so we got him Kinectimals. It's pretty cute.

Moments Around Here: Simeon and Lieren

We finally got a double stroller! I am thrilled. I have been researching them since before the babes were born and could never decide what I wanted. The fact that reviews are so mixed on many strollers does not help. As you saw in my recent post about our trip to Target, I have been using our umbrella strollers with connectors to make a quick and easy double. I was specifically trying it that day to see if I liked the idea of a side-by-side double when out shopping. The babes like it way better than the front-to-back kind where one has an obstructed view. So that cut out about half of the options. Then I found this one on Craigslist, looked it up, and was sold! We met the lady on Monday and came home with a great deal. What's even more fun is that the lady we bought it from has twins and we are talking about getting together to play sometime soon at a park when the weather gets nice. You never know where you might make a friend. So since it's still cold and yucky outside, we have to settle for taking rides inside...

Babes New Stroller from Brittany Drury on Vimeo.

Silas Lately

The Times, They are Changing

I took all three children to Target and Babies R Us this morning. It was a glorious day, in the high 50's. Yes it was cloudy and very soggy outside from all the melting snow, but I relished the chance to be out and about with only a light jacket on. This week I have, more than once, quoted a line to Silas from one of our favorite books, I'm Thankful Each Day: "And it's nice just to know that beneath winter's snow, the blossoms of springtime are beginning to grow..."
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Praise be to the God of seasons. Not only are the seasons changing outside, but I sense and see and am so grateful that the seasons are changing in our home as well. We have hit a turning point. The months of endless sheer survival appear to be coming to an end. Bits of freedom are returning; I am no longer operating daily in the urgent. And the joy that comes along with it is enough to make me tear up as a write. Did I mention I am so grateful? I am so grateful.
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So what's making the change?
...a good routine...
...babies who can play independently for a bit...
...a preschooler who is (not perfectly, but excellently) learning to use the potty...
...new sleep patterns that maximize naptimes for all of us...
...fully weaning Lieren...
...puffs...

Oh, yes, they love those puffs. And it's enough to keep the two little ones happy while the rest of us enjoy a lunch or dinner. It's fun to have all of us sitting at the table (or around the island!) together.
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...a new rug...

It has been fabulous to have a soft place for all of us to play! When Silas saw it he said, "Now you don't need the yellow blanket anymore because Daddy got you a new rug!"

...Simeon learning to hold his own bottle...

Even though you don't ever know what might happen...

And speaking of times changing, our Simeon is just a few attempts away from real crawling. Right now he can pretty much get at anything he wants by propelling himself forward with his legs and doing a modified army crawl. But I can tell he knows there should be an easier way. Even his crawling is bringing me freedom. He gets so frustrated when he can't get at toys. Now he can get anything he wants! Here are Sim and Lieren yesterday morning. He takes just a quick little crawl step, which is so typical of him right now...


Untitled from Brittany Drury on Vimeo.

Lieren is sitting here with me as I finish this. She woke early from her nap, which she has been doing lately. Not my favorite season, but a season each baby goes through at different stages. I will say it again: I am thankful for the seasons. The ebb and flow of life keeps me humble and hopeful.

And who wouldn't want to spend a quiet afternoon with this sweetie?

Almost Famous

We have been going to lots of basketball games this week. Tonight was the third night for Shane and Silas and the second for all of us. Two of our students from church played each other in the Regional Championship game tonight. It was a late night for the babes, but I guess it was worth it because our Lieren made the news! Perhaps one day she'll make it again, but will be playing on the court instead of in the stands (her daddy can only hope).

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The bit with Lieren is right at the beginning...

2 Two Year Olds + 2 Sets of Twins + 2 Mommies = Crazy Fun

Have I mentioned that I have a friend from church who is pretty much living my life? She and her husband have a son just a couple months older than Silas and twins who are just about a month younger than Simeon and Lieren.
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And they came to play with us today!
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This is Sim and Lieren with their friends Schaeffer and Logan...

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Here is Silas playing with his friend Jack...

The two older boys ran around the kitchen/dining room/living area/play area more times than I can count! Silas kept asking Jack to "run and chase" with him. And Jack obliged as long as he could push one of our trucks. It was too funny. Here they are giving a "high 5"...

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Having 6 children ages 2 and under with just two mommies made for a never-a-dull-moment kind of playdate. But it is always refreshing for me to be with Natalie. She loves her kids and she is just as real as can be. We share all the same joys and struggles so our hearts are knit pretty close even though we haven't known each other that long and don't spend that much time together (simply due to the nature of having 3 babies in each of our homes!). I have told the Lord more than once that He is thoughtful beyond measure to have brought Natalie into my life. She makes me feel normal.

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I'm actually laughing as I look at these pictures. The babies had fun, the 2 year olds wore themselves out (and played very well together, I might add!) and Natalie and I got to talk. It's one of those things I've mentioned before - a lot of work to get together, but so worth it.

I'm Sure Every Mom Has Thought This Exact Same Thing

Thursday was one of those days. Have I mentioned we started potty training? It was one of those days that usually makes me want to speed time up a bit. Get these kids a little more independent, you know what I mean?

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At naptime it all came to a head. I was soothing Lieren in the rocking chair and was about to lay her in bed while Sim rolled around on the floor and Silas played quietly next to him. Nine out of ten days Silas excellently goes along with the routine: "Babies are going down for nap so we just play with quiet toys right now, sweets." But for some reason quiet toys weren't enough so he reached over and pulled out Sim's paci. Sim was on the brink of a meltdown anyway and that was the last straw. He let out a shriek that I'm sure the office workers in our detached garage heard (that's another story for another day if you don't know what I'm talking about), and cried like a baby. Silas' eyes were about as big as saucers then he crumpled in a puddle of tears himself. I would have liked to join them, but took a deep breath instead. I laid sweet Lieren, the champion sleeper, down (she went right to sleep with all this mess going on, just for the record) and turned to tend to the boys.

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And that's when it hit me. Again. They will only be this age once. I will only once ever have a 2 1/2 year old and two 7 month olds. Never again will I be potty training one and giving pacis to two. In this season alone will Silas tell me that his jobs are to learn to go potty and clean up toys, Sim's jobs are to learn to sleep and crawl, and Lieren's jobs are to learn to roll over and talk (if he's heard those once, he's heard them a hundred times). And there's something about a "just once" that makes the thing precious, even if it is hard.

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So I scooped up Sim and gave him back his paci, reached over and pulled Silas close, and took in the moment. Sim calmed and began to drift off. Silas laid his head in my lap with his thumb in his mouth and the chaos was over. Calm and quiet descended on the room. And since then I've been very much at peace that my babies are still babies. There has still been chaos, mind you. But the sweetness that follows the chaos is the most sweet of all. Only a God like ours could have known how to make the peace most peaceful after the crazy.

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We are actually having great success with potty training. Just one accident in the past two days! And Silas is learning to request to go when he needs to so we're doing less just sitting around in the bathroom. We're still doing diapers at nap and night and when we go out. I'll tackle those in the days to come.

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Here's the little man taking a break to do his thing...

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And for no other reason than for you to see them, here are Lieren and Simeon waiting to head to church this morning...

All Cute and Nowhere to Go

We are all snowed in with blizzard conditions outside. Just like lots of you! But Sim and Lieren looked so cute today in outfits given to them by one of their favorite highschool girlies, Ashli, that I had to take pics and share...