Meeting Arthur

Here are the kids with Arthur. We met him at Barnes and Noble on Friday morning. There was a storytime where they read the newest Arthur book (which, coincidentally, was also for sale!) and then Arthur made his personal appearance. I was really proud of the kids. Of about 15 kids that were there, they were 3 out of only 5 that would even get close to him. When it was over, I asked them what they thought. Will said "Good, but he didn't talk to me. The easter bunny talked to me." He was referring to the Easter bunny at Ameritas. Score 1 for the easter bunny. Afterwards we picked up McDonald's then went to the park, ate lunch and played. The weather was HOT that day, around 90, so we went home around 12:30 and found the air conditioner.

Some big, exciting news in our house this week. I was offered and have accepted a job with LPS to go back teaching next year! It's .5 PTE, which is essentially part-time. My hours will be Wednesday afternoon, all day Thursday and all day Friday. So, I'll still have 2 1/2 days at home a week. I think this is going to be a good balance of work and being home with the kids. The kids will still go to First Lutheran Preschool on Tues/Thurs, and while the exact details have yet to be worked out, it is looking like they will go to daycare Thursday afternoons and all day Fridays. We are meeting with a home daycare provider, whose name we got from Aunt Lisa's friend Christy. Christy has always spoken highly of her, so we are going this weekend to meet her and see if she can take the kids starting in August.

Xander gave me a huge scare last week. We were going to the grocery store on Sunday morning, and I got them out of the car, one at a time as I always do. I make them stand next to the car so they don't run into the parking lot. And, if you have ever seen our minivan, it's a Honda Odyssey that has automatically closing doors. They open back up if something is in the way, but only if it's in the way of the front of the closing door. Well, Xander was standing at the back of the door and though it was a good idea to stick his finger in it as it was closing. I looked up just in time to gasp and try to pull it out, but I was too late and the door shut and his finger was shut in it. Of course, I had already locked the doors, so I had to fish out the key fab from my pocket, unlock it, then press the door open button. All the while Xander is screaming at the top of his lungs and I'm thinking the worst. When I finally got his finger out, it was blue and flat, like a cartoon character that had been flattened by a steamroller. So, I yelled at Will and Grace to get back into the car, as I'm thinking his finger is crushed and we'll have to go to the hospital. Then, Will starts crying that he wants to go to the store, and Xander is screaming about his thumb. I strap all three of them back into the seats as fast as I have ever done it and fly home. I carried Xander inside and put some ice on his finger. It started looking better and he was calmer by then. He was able to bend it, so we decided it wasn't crushed and didn't go to the hospital. We never did make it to the grocery store, though. By the way, it really made an impression on Xander not to put his hands in the way of the closing doors. He balls up his hands into fists and puts them behind his back everytime the doors are closing.

The weather didn't cooperate with us over the weekend. We were supposed to have our pictures professionally taken on Sunday by Khara, who has done all of our other great family pictures in the past. So, we're working on a reschedule date, so far nothing has worked out yet. When we get them, I'll let you know. That's about all for now. Take care!

Be my cowboy!

a rare moment of quiet and no fighting......

Xander weighs more, but Will is so strong that it's no problem. "Be my cowboy" is what Will tells Xander when he wants him to ride on his back. Will actually offers rides to whoever will take them. He thinks it's fun and funny. Silly boy!

Xander trying to return the favor. He's not as strong and Will's too much for him.

So, thank goodness for spring! It's finally here. We have been outside soaking up the sun as much as we can. We are actually wearing shorts today and it's fantastic. Although, we had to get out new clothes and shoes for the kids, since they grew out of last years' summer clothes. The shoes are still a little big, and they look funny trying to run around in them, but as always, at least they can wear them for a long time.

Unfortunately, Xander's cold turned into a sinus infection. I took him to the doctor on Saturday morning, and he's on his 4th day of antibiotics and now is back to normal. In hindsight, you can tell over last week that he didn't feel good just by how he was acting. He is definitely back to his ornery more animated self. Will also went to the doctor, but luckily his cold started clearing up on its own and we may not need to fill the antibiotic prescription we were sent home with. Poor Grace is pretty congested and her voice has been going hoarse. Hopefully she won't get a sinus infection, too. We'll wait a couple more days to see what happens with that.

Speaking of Grace, she has inexplicably picked up a Southern accent. Now, we don't really know anyone that we spend a lot of time with that has a thick southern accent, so she's just doing it. She says things like "Way-ll" (Will) "thay-ere" (there) and "may-lk" (milk). It is so funny. She actually sounds like she lives in Mississippi or something. A couple of funny things said in our house recently....

Will: "Daddy, look at my new shirt."

Daddy: "I see it Will."

Will: "Is it cool?"

Daddy, laughing: "Yes, it's very cool."

Xander bothering Will.

Will growling: "Xander, you're making me very angry."

(Now, I wonder where he's heard that one before. Only everyday from Brian and I, because someone is always doing something to make us angry.)

Not really much else to report. We're just going on with normal things, not really doing anything extraordinary or special. We are getting some professional pictures taken this weekend, so I'll let you know when you can see those online. Otherwise, enjoy the nice weather and have a great spring weekend everyone! Thanks for checking on us.

They're jumping....and they have a rope.....

Does that mean they're jumping rope? You be the judge. These ropes came from Uncle Nick and Meagan for Easter.

So, we've had a nice week. We've gotten out quite a bit this week. The weather was good in the first of the week, so we hit the park and played outside a lot. We also got to the library twice for storytimes. After going to this new storytime for 4 months now, they're finally feeling comfortable enough to sing, dance and do the actions of rhymes in storytime. I guess they have to feel really comfortable somewhere before they'll do those things! We also had a nice lunch at the mall on Tuesday with my grandparents in from Superior. Boy do they know how to spoil those kids. A yummy lunch, then a ride on a carousel. They don't get that kind of treatment from Brian and I. Thanks Papa and Betty!

Grace did something funny last week. One of the boys had hit her and she was mad about it. She was laying on the floor and crying for quite a long time. I was washing dishes, and getting really annoyed at the crying. So, I told her if she wanted to cry to go into her bedroom, and if she was going to stay in the living room that she had to stop crying. A second later, she stopped crying. I thought to myself "OK, that works!" Another second later, I heard loud wailing coming from the general direction of her bedroom. So, she really must have wanted to cry! Brian and I died laughing. The next day, she was crying about something again. I heard her crying in the living room, then it stopped, a second later, the crying was coming from her bedroom. I guess she's making a habit now of crying from the bedroom. She only stays there for less than a minute, then comes back out as if nothing was wrong. Funny!

The boys have little colds this week, just enough to set the coughing off. So, lots of albuterol treatments and Kleenex. When Xander has a runny nose, boy does he have a runny nose! The boys are still enjoying playing "Horsey" but now they do it on each other. Will is quite strong and gives Xander rides all the time. I have some pictures I can post of that later. One other piece of news (good news), Will is on a waking up dry in the morning streak. Two days in a row, one longer than any other streak! Let's hope we're headed in the right direction. I'll let you know in a few weeks!

In true Niebuhr fashion (meaning the big nerd/geek fashion), the kids have started asking how to add numbers. Mostly it's just "Mommy, what does 2 and 2 make?" They can remember several, like 1+1, 2+2, 4+4, 5+1, 5+2, you get the idea. Today Grace asked me "Mommy, what does 4 and 4 make?" I answered "eight". Then, "Mommy what does 8 and 8 make?" I said "16." Then, "What does 16 and 16 make?" After I said "32" I stopped that game because it would have started taking me a while to figure out those higher numbers!

So, that's about all. Have a good week everyone. Enjoy the spring weather!

Happy Easter

Easter 2009

Here are our pictures from Easter Sunday. Despite the not to warm weather, we had a good day. We went to church early and I'm glad to say the kids behaved well during the service, especially since daddy had to handle them on his own (I had to be with my kids' choir in the balcony). After church, we went straight to the Niebuhrs. They were still gone at their church, so we were able to find the presents the Easter bunny had left at Grandma and Grandpa's house. What a smart bunny! So, we had a nice egg hunt, lunch and easter baskets with the Niebuhrs. They took a huge nap in the afternoon (3 1/2 hours for the boys), then we were off to the Hoefs for the evening. After another egg hunt, and yummy dinner, they opened their presents from Grandma and Grandpa Hoefs. Those were a huge hit. They got fishing poles and life jackets. As you can see from the pictures, they LOVED those! They must have "fished" over the staircase for about an hour (there were little plastic fish tied on to the end of the line), wearing their life jackets, of course. They are looking forward to going fishing for real with Grandpa, if the weather would ever warm up. Hope you all had a good Easter, too! More later this week.

A visit to the Ameritas Easter Bunny

Saturday, even though it was a cold, very windy day. The triplets, Grandma and Grandpa Niebuhr and Carter braved the nasty weather and went to Ameritas for an easter egg hunt. They got treats, saw the Easter Bunny and then hunted for eggs outside. Then, the lucky kids got to have lunch at the mall. They had a great time, and here are the best pictures from all that Ellen took. My favorite one is all 4 kids looking out the window of Dale's office on the 3rd floor. Carter is as small compared to the triplets as he used to be!

Our other news isn't too exciting. We have been suffering the effects of cold, snowy, rainy, windy weather. There have only been a handful of nice days in the last 3 weeks to go outside. To pass the time, we have gone to all the places we frequent: the museum, indoor playground, and library. We also have 2 mall outings planned in the next 5 days. So, all I have to say is that the weather better get nice fast, I can't take it much more! With the cabin fever they've had lately, we think they get bored in the house, and you know what happens when kids are bored. They fight!!! The fighting has been unbearable lately. They lay on each other, take each others' toys, hit, kick, etc. Time out has been a popular place lately. If the weather is even remotely warm, we go outside and ride bikes. They're able to ride all around the block on their tricycles now, and we have a HUGE block. It's a big accomplishment for them when they get all the way around.

I realized I haven't posted anything about potty training lately. That's because I think we've finally overcome that hurdle! No one really has any accidents anymore. Will has only pooped his pants once in the last month. Everyone wakes up dry from naps. The only thing is the night time. The boys are still waking up wet. However, Will has stopped his habit of peeing in this diaper when he wakes up. So, the wetness of his diaper is all happening during his sleep. I think I'll wait a month or two more before we try again on the night training thing. I don't think there's much I can do about it if they are peeing in their sleep. Xander may prove to be a challenge in this respect. He is like his dad and refuses to get out of bed in the morning, so the accidents will probably be frequent. Actually, Xander is proving to be a challenge in most departments lately. He is constantly telling us "NO" when we ask him to do something. He spends a good deal of time in time-out everyday. He frustrates us, no question!

That's about all for now. I'll have lots of great pictures from this weekend's Easter celebrations. Another several egg hunts, and lots of family time on Sunday. Take care everyone!

Nursery rhymes by Grace

Well, here's Grace doing her best nursery rhymes. I edited the video quite a bit. You don't see this, but there is about 4 minutes of her trying to sing Baby Beluga, and doing a quite good job of it, but the boys were fighting in the background. Xander came in yelling that Will broke something of his, and Will came in crying big crocodile tears that Xander hurt him. So, needless to say, much of Grace is drowned out. Here is the end with her cute nursery rhymes. Enjoy that part. I'll save you from hearing the other drama.

Will singing and some nursery rhyme fun

Here is some of Will singing songs of his choosing, Twinkle and Itsy Bitsy Spider. Pardon Grace's interruption, she couldn't find something and apparently it was life or death at that exact moment. The last half of the video is the boys saying some nursery rhymes. I'm always surprised at how well they remember those. Enjoy!

5 Little Ducks

Here is Xander singing the "5 Little Ducks", Raffi's version. I had thought I was just getting a good example of Xander's funny singing. It turned out to be a sad commentary on life in our house. Will interrupts Xander several times, Grace comes in to see what's going on, Will is making noise and bothering Xander, etc. It just goes to show you what our house is actually like everyday. But, there are some funny Xander moments. He really gets into his singing. Enjoy!