Mommy and Daddy on Airplane...

I think I heard that sentence about 100 times after Adam and I got back from San Francisco late Tuesday night. Getting ready to be gone for 5 days was extremely overwhelming, considering I had to pack for 3 kids and leave instructions for 3 sets of people. You would have thought we were going to be gone for a month the way I had stuff arranged, but even 5 days takes a lot of planning. We're very thankful to my family for watching the kids, we couldn't have done it without them! So, how did everyone do? GREAT!

Mimi and Papa Mark had the kids for 2 days and I think (they probably wouldn't tell me otherwise) they had a good time. We told the kids they were having a slumber party at their house and off they went, blankets, pillows, suitcase, diapers and wipes in tow. They took them out to the Pumpkin Patch and Owen got to ride a pony (the highlight of his life, thus far). They also went to the Zoo with Great Aunt Darci and Mike.

Uncle B and Leigh had them Sunday and had some fun. We got a great photo of the kids in the bathtub, splashing away while we gone. Aiden got up early, so Brendan got to experience entertaining a baby at 6 a.m.

Papa and Gwen had the kids Monday and Tuesday until we got home. I think the hardest part for them was getting them ready and out the door to daycare. It's a lot of work, especially for someone whose not used to doing it. I got a photo of Papa changing Owen's diaper....not going to lie, it was probably the first diaper he's changed in about 25 years so I wasn't sure if he still had it in him :)

We had a good time on the trip, but were ready to come home on Tuesday. Between tours of Alcatraz and Napa Valley, we were busy walking around the city and eating everything in sight. Adam weighed himself when we got back and he was 6 lbs heavier (I refuse to step on a scale...denial is key). We had a Disney Store near our hotel, so we came home with gobs of stuff for the kids. Mickey and Minnie Mouse came home with us and the first thing Aubrey said was, "Where's Goofy, and Daisy and Donald..." guess we should have bought the whole crew.

Now, we're busy gearing up for the Fall. Our friends, Nick and Amy, just had a baby so we're headed over there tonight to meet sweet Wyatt. Adam is gone all next week for work :( I have Race for the Cure on the 22nd and we're taking the kids to Night Eyes on the 23rd. After that, Adam is gone for another week and will have to miss Halloween (boo), so Mama is single parenting a lot this month. In preparation for Halloween, we're making ghosts for our trees this weekend and might decorate some cookies.

Owen aka "chicken"

Aubrey aka "Tickle Monster"

Aiden aka "Shark"

I've been awful about taking photos this month, but promise to get some up here soon!

Daddy's New Job

Adam recently started with EXP Pharmaceuticals, selling to pharmacies across the state. While it was a great career move, it has taken him away from the family a lot. I'm slowly getting used to being by myself at night and taking care of the kids alone for sometimes days at a time. He hates being gone, but he's trying to stick it out for awhile. He's going to be gone for two weeks the month of October, so we will see how I'm holding up by the end of the month :)

On a positive note, Adam and I leave for San Francisco in 8 days! It's our first trip just the two of us since our honeymoon. We've always done vacations with other friends or the kids were along, so we will see how bored we get with each other by the end of it! I won this trip from Merck for my 2010 performance, so it's not going to cost us anything...BONUS! We're super excited, but also nervous to be gone for 5 days. Mimi and Papa Mark are watching the kids for the first few days, B and Leigh are taking them for a night and Papa Bill and Gwen have the kids for the last two days. It's so great to have all of the close and willing to help us out so we can get a break and enjoy the trip. I'm sure the kids will have a blast (and be fed WAY too much candy), but they're with people who love them so that's all that matters.

We're slowly getting used to daycare. Aubrey doesn't cry anymore (she actually tells me to go to work sometimes) and Aiden is now with kids a few months older, so I think that's helping. He's so advanced for 16 months that I don't think he liked being with kids exactly the same age. Owen has turned into the sobbing mess when we leave now, but seems to have fun once he gets over the drop-off. The twins can count to 15 now and Aiden has added many new words to his vocabulary. We've been crazy busy so far and weekends have flown by. Ugh, winter will be here before we know it. Here's some latest pictures of the kiddos.

Go Irish!

Player Owen wanted to dress himself...note the boots are from last year and a size too small,

but he refused to take them off.

Who needs pants?

Boys snuggling and eating some kettle corn.

Aubrey helping mommy make cookies.

Kiddos are Heading Back to Daycare

We've had two great nannies this past year, but we decided it was time to take the kids back to a daycare center to get a little more structure. We're back at KoalatyTime in West Des Moines and so far it's been an adjustment. Owen is doing the best. He puts up little fight when we leave and seems to be ok with the new arrangement. Aubrey is having a little harder time. Poor girl cries and cries when we drop her off and when I pick her up after work she starts crying when she sees me...strange, I know. The first couple of days she was pretty sad and told her teachers she really missed mom, but on Wednesday, she did great and her teacher said it was her best day yet! Now Aiden is the toughest of the bunch. Being 16 months and never been in daycare, he hates it. He's never even been babysat outside of our house (except for an occasional trip to Mimi's) and has never been left with someone he didn't know, so this is huge for him. It's also tough since he's separated from the twins too. I'm so thankful to work part-time, because I would never survive taking them full-time. We're hoping they get used to their new surroundings soon and really start liking "school." They all got new backpacks and LOVE them (we even have temper tantrums over taking them off to get in the car seats).

Owen is really starting to expand his vocabulary. We can understand most of things he says and is putting together some longer sentences. He sits on the potty and occasionally actually does some business in it, but still prefers his diapers..ugh. He is super cute when you tell him "thank you" and he responds "welcome" in his little voice. We had to get a second lock on the sliding patio door since he figures out every locking mechanism out and lets himself out...all the time. He doesn't care if he's buck naked, he just runs outside and starts playing. He's going to be a chicken for Halloween, so that should be pretty funny.

Aubrey is the goofiest thing. She easily says 10-13 word sentences that are easy to understand. You can have full conversations with her, which are always amusing. She and I were in the car the other day and she was listening to her kids CD which has a song about Santa. Suddenly she tells me that "Papa shoot reindeer in his downstairs." It was hilarious! She's very much a mama's girl and is very into pretty things, especially lip gloss. She is going to be a tickle monster this year at Halloween, so hopefully she doesn't get all diva on me and decide last minute she isn't going to wear it.

Aiden is growing by the minute. He was in the 70th percentile at his 15 month appointment. He was way above the chart in vocabulary. He can put two word sentences together, "peek boo" "no mama" "more please" "thank you". He knows every character on Sesame Street. The little stinker has also started head-butting things when he's mad or doesn't get what he wants. He gets really mad when he hurts himself after doing it. He loves hard, but melts quick. He is going to be a shark for Halloween, so should be adorable!

Here's some latest pictures of the kids...

Aiden loving some sweet corn.

Don't mess with me after my nap... yes, I tried to undress myself.

My child loves to be naked...enough said.

Iowa State Fair

We decided to hit up the Iowa State Fair twice this year (as if one day of fried food, people watching and stinky barn animals wasn't enough)! The kids and I went with Mimi and Papa Mark and got to play in the Little Hands on Farm area, see all the baby animals and walk through the horse barn. We ate corn dogs, JR mini donuts, strawberry smoothies and chocolate chip cookies. It rained for a good hour, so we had to keep the kids entertained in the baby animal building, but ventured out in the rain once we found some ENORMOUS ponchos.

Adam, Uncle B and Leigh were able to join us during our second trip to the Fair. It was a picture perfect Sunday morning and the kids had a great time. We got to see the big bull and big boar and spent a lot of time walking and playing through the tractors.

First Family Vacation!

We embarked on our first official family vacation this August and the kids had a blast. We weren't quite sure how it would go with three toddlers in tow, but overall it was a success and it will be a new family tradition to head down there once a year. We traveled down in my car (so one can imagine how tight of a fit it was), but the kids did great. They watched a lot of Dora and Mickey Mouse and eventually slept the rest of the way down.

The kids kept plenty busy down there...feeding the ducks, boating, swimming in the pool, fishing, tubing, jumping on Mike and Jackie's trampoline and exploring the resort. They weren't big fans of taking naps on vacation, but we can't complain since they did pretty well with being a little sleep deprived. We shared a cabin with Brendan and Leigh, so they got the full Povah experience, which means getting woken up at 6:45 am and watching them constantly getting into everything they could put their hands on. We couldn't have done the trip without them, as they were a great help. We also spent time with Papa and Gwen and even got to ride on Gwen's brother's boat, which was beautiful and HUGE. We all went to Captain Ron's one afternoon which has a beach, bounce house and a pirate ship. Aubrey was not a huge fan of the pirates, but the boys liked them. The last day we were there we got the kids to try out tubing and they LOVED it. We had a hard time getting them off the darn thing once we were tired of riding around at a whopping 5 miles an hour. Here's a few pics from the trip...

A boy's gotta eat!

A smooch between twinkies.

Come here ducky, ducky...

Aubrey helping me mentally prepare to wake board...it had been awhile.

My three amigos belly up to the bar.

I'm already excited for next year!

Two little Monkey's Jumping on the Bed...

Some weeks are good weeks and some aren't so great. This happens to be the latter. Aubrey and Owen have decided bedtime is the new "play and destroy" time. They dump their hamper, pull clothes from the closet, rip stuff off the walls and jump on their beds. Grrrrr.... Today at nap time, I hear Aubrey yelling, "Mama, Owen bit me." So, I walk into their room to find two naked twins, one with a clear bite mark on her back. Now I'm the lucky mom of a biter...great. I put their diapers and clothes back on and shut the door. Not only 5 minutes later I hear diaper-like ripping sounds, so I head back in their room and sure enough they're both buck naked again and jumping on their beds while singing "The Wheels on the Bus". Here's a picture of their room from earlier this week.

I guess having one child sleep is better than none. Thanks Aiden!

Nana and Papa Jim Visit!

We all got to see Nana Nikki and Papa Jim last weekend. It's been a year since we've seen them, so they were anxious to see the kids. I think they were amazed at how much they've changed in a year. Last year, Owen wasn't walking, Aubrey was just saying a few words and Aiden was a newborn with bright red hair. Now we have a running Owen who doesn't stop moving, Aubrey is a talking machine and a bright blonde headed 15 month old. Taylor also came down for an afternoon and I think Aubrey was the most excited about that. She loves watching Taylor and trying to copy her. It's pretty cute. Here's some pictures from their visit.

Not sure when we will get to see them again, but they're enjoying this blog to keep up to date with all the happenings of the kiddos' lives.