Quadruplets laughing

he can be so sweet

we've been having a great time playing outside in the evenings. i put a new rule into place. No TV after school (except you can have on a baseball game). i figure there is enough tv watching at sylvia's and it is so nice outside that we must get out and play. so the past week or so we've spent all afternoon playing baseball and crawling around outside. Cooper is really enjoying the outdoors but has a bit of a hard time in the grass. we just set him up with a big quilt and he's fine after that. Last night was no exception. the boys were outside and i was cooking dinner with the door open. we've decided to "eat down the pantry" so last night was pasta shells with meat sauce and some canned veg on the side (mmmmm). the boys came in and started to eat while i finished up in the kitchen. Cash looked up from his meal and said, "mommy, this is a really good dinner you cooked for me. thank you." - he can be so sweet.
last night was another good sleeping night. Cooper went to bed after a dose of tylenol for his teeth. Cash went to bed without any crying or sneaking out. Although, i realize now that he is getting so independent. I had his noise maker on last night and when i went up to bed i realized it was off. he had gotten up, turned it off and got back into bed. good boy!

the mystery poo

Cash finally pooped yesterday. he hadn't pooped since he started wearing underpants on Friday. I think he was holding it because he didn't want to poop outside of his diaper. last night he couldn't hold it any more. he had just returned from peeing in the potty - cash feels the need to take his pants all the way off when he goes pee - and was naked. he looked up at Chandler with fear in his eyes and said, "uh oh, i'm pooping". Chandler scooped him up and rushed him to the bathroom. HOWEVER, on the way the poop came out. Plop. Splat. right on my floor! I was cooking dinner so imagine my confusion when Chandler is yelling at me from the bathroom, "there's poop on the floor, get it before Cooper does." We get the poop picked up and go on as normal. Cash continues to do amazingly well at potty training and this is his first real accident (except for yesterday on the way home when there was a big car wreck and we had to sit in traffic for an extra 20 minutes he leaked a little pee).
On to the mystery part (oh, you thought that was all the poop stories for today - wrong!) This morning i threw a load of laundry in the washer. i just dumped both boys' laundry baskets in there without much review. the spin cycle finished up right before we headed out the door so i went up to put the clothes in the dryer. i opened the dryer and it was FULL OF TURDS!!! the cleanest turds you ever did see. smashed up against our clothes and the washing machine. this is the mystery part. from what i can tell Cash pooped somewhere, either in his undies or in his laundry basket (most likely the former) and i didn't know about it. this explains how the most "regular" boy in the world could not poop for 3 days. it must have been in his undies and i just threw them in the washer. mothering fail! so i cleaned out the washing machine and started the clothes over. good thing the cleaning lady comes today. i left her a note to clean the washing machine. and scrub the floors extra!

Getting big!

Cooper is standing everywhere, on everything. he even pulls up on my legs. he stands up and lets go (and immediately falls down). I've even seen him trying to pass back and forth between the couch and the coffee table. we dropped his mattress to the lowest level because he was just leaning a little too far over the edge. which makes me a little sad because that really, really means he isn't a little baby anymore.
Cooper crawls so fast that i literally have to run after him. he makes a b-line for the dog's water and food - so gross. He can play for such a long time by himself. yesterday we sat up in the playroom while Cash was out with Daddy and he just explored all around.
but i really like this stage and the next few stages to come. i can tell that the boys will start playing together more soon and that is exciting for me. they sat in the sandbox for a little while yesterday evening (until Cash threw sand and Cooper was eating handfuls of sand).

i wish i could bottle yesterday

our weather was perfect and our kids were perfect! Cash isn't wearing diapers anymore. i am not buying another pack so he's in underpants and totally gets it. he didn't have a single accident all weekend. we even went pee in a restaurant and store bathroom. this morning when he woke up his diaper was completely dry. the morning pee is usually the hardest to catch because Cash wakes up in a bit of a fog and it takes him a few minutes before he wants to engage. this is usually when he does his morning pee. this morning though he woke up and daddy got him to pee on the potty!
Cash also did an amazing job sleeping last night. he did not have a nap and went straight to bed (after watching a little bit of Dora) and didn't make a peep. he stayed in his bed all night with the door open. he slept from 8pm to 7am. just how we like it.

minor set back

we've had a lot of crying tonight. lots of whimpering. and more crying. begging. pleading. hopefully he'll wear himself out. before he wears us out.
he had a good day though. wore underpants all day without an accident. although i think he holds it when he's not wearing a diaper. he really only pee'd three times.

i think we have a winner

tonight we did the routine with Cash. asked him if he wants the door open or closed [open]. asked him what would happen if he got out of bed [close the door]. so what should he do [stay in bed]. he didn't get out of bed one time. he did cry and whine for a little while (20 minutes) but he didn't get out of bed, not at all. he even dropped his dummy off the side of the bed and called out to daddy to come and get it!
next we have to get rid of the dummy.

happy campers

so far so good. we have been working on a new sleep solution for Cash and it seems to be working. he has chosen to have his door open when he sleeps. that's just fine with us. but the rule is, if you get out of bed we close your door for 5 minutes. he gets out of bed and we close the door. he is very unhappy about this and usually cries for the whole 5 minutes. we go back, open the door and ask him to get back in bed. repeat "do you want the door open or closed? [open, ok]. if you get out of bed we have to close the door and it will be longer next time. please stay in your bed so you can keep the door open."
the first night he got out of bed 3 times and came into our bed at 4am. the second night he got out of bed 1 time, whimpered for a while and then fell asleep. he woke up at 3:30am and turned on his light (?). I explained the process and he got out of bed, door closed (for a shorter period since it was the middle of the night), he didn't like it. got back in bed and slept until 7am.
the best part. the best part of all...he was such a happy camper this morning. he was pleasant, no whining, no complaining, no bossing. just the picture of perfection - sweet, kind, funny, loving. it is really obvious now how a good night (plenty of rest and no fighting/crying) really effects him in a positive way.
i'm on cloud nine right now! we can do this. we can get our good sleeper back.

Carlos Santana Concert

Carlos Santana, originally uploaded by carolyn_martin.

We (Dana, myself and some girls from work) went to the Carlos Santana and Friends concert last night. it was spur of the moment when a contact of Dana's called her and offered the VIP suite.
it was a fun night and a really good concert.
I think after all this time away from the boys i owe chandler big time.

Please help Forbuss win $500,000. click the vote button and give them your votes. do it before Sept 3 please, please, please. it isn't hard.

on his way to a pixie

we all remember the pixie i gave myself as a little girl (if only i were brave enough to rock that hairstyle today). well, it looks like Cash is following in his mommy's footsteps.

The Cashmonster

Cash is a challenge. he is a totally different boy than from a year ago - obviously. but if you has asked me a year ago i would have told you that he was perfect and that he'll always be perfect. no so. he is a great kid and lots and lots of fun. he is so funny and witty and has amazing comedic timing (whether he knows it or not). Chandler and I often remark that we love him so much during the day we just wish the sun would never set. He is an actual werewolf or vampire or gremlin. Choose whatever analogy you like, something happens to the kid when the sun goes down. He turns into a sassy, misbehaving, opinionated, rude little stinker who will fight us until midnight to not go to bed. we've tried everything (which i believe to be the root of the problem) and nothing seems to work to get the kid to sleep. you all know that we used to be able to put him in bed, turn around and walk away and it would be 7am before we would hear from him again. now he's up until midnight, waking in the night and up at 5am. something ain't right. we can't seem to get him to stay in bed or not cry for hours. door closed, door open - doesn't matter. rewards charts - puuhh-leeeeze. incentives - nope. discipline - ha! staying with him seems to be the only thing that works but still that takes hours. Chandler and i have really come to our whit's end with this problem. last night i was wishing that the Supper Nanny would come flying down our chimney.
i know we have to figure out a plan and stick with it. we thought that was locking him in his room and letting him cry it out but this kid can cry it out for hours. and that's a lot easier said than done when you have a baby sleeping in the next room. And then he threw a wrench in that plan when he said that he wanted the door open (another tactic on his part but it hit me right in the mommy-heart). so now we were trying the "trust" plan. "we'll leave the door open if you can stay in your bed" - didn't happen.
anyway, Martinville is the new City that doesn't Sleep

Cooper 8 months

Cooper continues to be a model citizen. He is crawling everywhere and he is starting to work his way up the stairs. he pulls up and stands on everything. no matter what it is (the drawers make me so crazy because he pulls them out, pulls up and then they slide in). He thinks his brother is hysterical. He has 4 teeth and more on the way. Sylvia continues to be amazed at how well he is teething. virtually no complaining but lots of poop and rash. (that's the same as Cash) He really doesn't have much drool though and i remember that Cash was always covered in slobber. He eats everything you put in front of him. breakfast he eats yogurt, cheerios and a bottle. during the day he has 2 big bottles and 2 big jars of baby food and snacks (animal crackers, mandarin oranges, fruit of any kind, anything really) and then at dinner he usually has a jar of stage 3 baby food and something else like a yogurt or fruit based baby food. he snacks on whatever Cash doesn't finish or whatever is on our plates that we can give him. at bedtime he has another bottle. He's 20lbs by my bathroom scale - probably more. He sleeps like a champ. he was sleeping through the night but that changed during vacation and he hasn't gotten back into his routine yet since i've been gone but we can get him back to a full night's sleep in no time. He wears 12 month clothes and they fit perfectly so in another month or two they might be getting snug. He talks and babbles all the time. mamama and dadaada and growls like a monster.
he is so sweet and smiley and perfect. laid back and chill. he is such an observer but also likes to get in there and play and be involved in what's going on. he's a pleasure.

Home Alone

I went to a conference in NC for a week and left the boys at home! its the longest i have been without them but i wasn't terribly sad or concerned. i guess i knew they were in good hands and i could use a break. I left on the redeye on Sunday night and returned on Friday afternoon. so i was gone for the week which was better than over a weekend because Chandler could still take the guys to Sylvia's and get a little break. His parents also came down to spend some time with the guys and provide an extra set of hands in the mornings and evenings. They even kept Cash home from school one day to play. they had a great time at the park and went toy shopping.
I stocked the pantry before i left because i just had visions of them eating macaroni and cheese for a week. when i got home all the groceries were still there...i don't want to know.
anyway, everyone survived and no one missed me too terribly much. in fact it was days before anyone even thought to ask about me. but when i did get home Cash followed me around like he was my shaddow. it was sweet.
the conference was pretty boring but i did get to spend some nice QT with Grammy. we went shopping and to the movies!

Lake Tahoe

we had an awesome vacation - although at some points a little overwhelming with 3 under 3 in the house. but its all good. i can't seem to find the strength to go back in time and recap everything so please enjoy our pictures instead.