ok, so the summer flew by. it was so freaking hot that i thought we were all going to melt, but we survived. in august we went to the ozarks with uncle b, (almost aunt) leigh, papa and gwen. the kids got their first experience of sleeping in a hotel. it was a little chaotic, but we all managed. the drive down there was a little rough, ok a lot rough. aiden was a hot mess and wanted nothing to do with the car and our dvd player that gg gave us broke down. we did buy another one and somehow made it there in one piece. the place we stayed at was great! it was huge and clean and beautiful. the kids had a blast. they got to boat, swim at the pool, go-kart, and run around like crazies. owen was the only kiddo that liked tubing this year, so he had fun riding behind the boat. we probably could have stayed another day, but not knowing how the kids would do, we decided to make it a 4 night trip. i think everyone was exhausted when we got back.
we also hit up the iowa state fair. on the way there i was telling the kids they would see lots of mullets at the fair and aubrey replied, "can i pet a mullet?" it was one of the funniest things i've ever heard. adam and i were laughing so hard that she got embarrassed and told us not to make fun of her (which i quickly informed her that we were just laughing at her joke, not her). she's a sensitive soul. anyway, they loved the baby animals and venturing through the barns. it was a perfect night out there and definitely worth the trip.
aubrey had her surgery on september 5th. thank god it's over (for the most part) and we can move on. it was rough and stressful. she didn't get scheduled until 1:25 p.m. so we couldn't give her anything to eat or drink all morning. she went back to the or like a trooper and even let the doctor carry her back. it was a 3 1/2 hour surgery and adam and i were so nervous the whole time. it was a huge relief when we consulted with her surgeon, dr. kieran, and found out that she did great and hopefully this is a life long fix. it was one of my saddest moments when we finally got her see her and she was in pain and so distressed from the anesthesia. she was crying for adam and i and kept pulling on her catheter and iv. the first night in the hospital was tough, but she was on morphine for the pain and was able to sleep a little. the next day she had to get up for the first time after the surgery and that seemed to be pretty painful for her. her incision is about 5 inches along her bikini line, so i can see why that would hurt anyone, let alone a 3 year old. papa and uncle b came to visit the second day and adam had to go back home to get the boys. i was alone with her the second night and adam came back the next day and thankfully we got discharged that morning. she had a lot of pain and irritation the first week home, but seems to be doing great now. we go back on october 16th to have the stents removed from her ureters, so i'm dreading that, but it's a lot less invasive and we can go home that morning.
the twins started preschool....where has the time gone? they love it and are doing great. the preschool is built into the daycare center, so they have it every morning they are there (10 days a month). they're little sponges and remember everything, so it's been fun to hear about what they learned about for the day. aiden just moved out of miss mana and miss emily's room to matthew's room. i thought he would be so sad to leave those teachers, but he's obsessed with mr. matthew. he doesn't even give me a hug or kiss anymore, just runs into matthew's arms and waves bye. stinker. seriously, everyone in the daycare center loves that kid.
i take them to a music class on monday morning with amy and berkley and they think it's pretty fun. they get to sing and dance and it's not as structured as story time at the library (which i haven't ventured back to after owen was all over the place and crazy town).
owen is wild..period. he seriously can wear me out in 5 minutes. he's extremely loud (especially for his size, we just got him into 3T pants) and loves to be the center of attention. he has a slight problem with calling everyone "poopy butt." ugh, i hate potty talk. his teachers seem to be pretty patient with him, so that's a blessing. he does so much better with male teachers than female ones and he's a kid that takes a little while to adjust to a new teacher/room/place/friend, etc. he's very funny and loves to laugh at his own jokes (hummm, sounds like adam). he loves to wrestle with aiden is constantly wanting to "fight" with him. have i mentioned how tired he makes me? he's still at night owl and we struggle every night at bedtime. one of these days i will sleep again.
aubrey is so smart it's scary. she knows so many phrases, nouns, adjectives and surprises me everyday with something new. she loves to paint and color. she spent the day at with mimi a few weeks ago and literally painted all day. she went through gobs of paper and paint, but loved it. she's generally the happiest kid. she wakes up and runs into our room saying, "ta da" almost every morning with a huge smile on her face. she's also learning to manipulate situations..."but i love you so much mommy that i have to sit on your lap." she's so freaking sweet, caring and lovable. her teachers seriously can't say enough good things about her. i guess we will keep her, at least until 13.
aiden is still goofy and ridiculous. he makes me laugh all day long. he loves to kiss, hug and say "love you." he's also crazy smart and i often forget he's still two. he puts together long sentences and speaks really well. probably even better than aubs did at his age. he's back to being a mama's boy (amen!) but that comes with me having to lay with him until he falls asleep every night. sometimes that means til 9:45 p.m. we're really working on how to make bedtime less stressful, ugh. he comes into our bed every night and pretty much sleeps on me. like owen, he loves to be around boys. he tends to favor his papa's and uncles over the girls in the family. he can count to 20 and knows tons of colors. i can't believe the baby is 2 :(
so long summer, hello fall!
