Find the joy

Conner said that to me yesterday.  In the midst of yelling at Mason to again, not knock the gate down, the twinadoes beating each other up, Conner bouncing the play basketball of the wall for they millionth time (and me telling him to stop that many times), he told me I just need to find the joy.  How can a 6 1/2 year old have so much wisdom?

Crazy kids

Twins.  Seriously. They give you a run for your money. We have been having problems keeping our clothes and diapers on during naptime and at night.  We have tried duct tape on the diapers, then duct taped diapers and onsies, yet somehow theybalways end up butt naked with pee and usually poop all over the floor.  So now, we are trying footie jammies on backwards with the zipper duct taped.  Usually this has been working fairly well.  But if yi u hear laughing, you better get in there fast.  That usually meajs they are HELPING each other get the duct tape off and unzip they jammies.  Seriously!  At least, like my mom said, we are helping them learn to help each other early on, to the detriment of our sanity however.   We have to have our house locked up like Ft. Knox as well.  We have to lock doors from the inside and have a little key to pop it when we want to get in say, the bathroom.  We have tried the regular door knob locks, and Mr. Mason has them off in record time.  There is definitely never a dull moment in the Wallman household.  We are very much a glutton for punishment as well.  We are actually going to try and put our Christmas tree out in the living room. I give it maybe an hour before we are putting it in the back room.  Ya gotta try, right?
Then there is our Conner.  Mouthy as ever, but god do I love that boy.  He is doing so well in 1st grade and says he loves math.  Not quite sure what family he is from! We come from a long line of poor performance in math!  He is learning more and more everyday and we could not be more proud of him.  The other day after picking him up from my parents house, he was talking to Nate and was talking about Duke, Kutter, Duncan, Oskar and Reggie.  All dogs from our family that have passed.  He kinda laughed and said , "oh man, those were the days".  Haha seriously?  How does a 6 year old have "days".  Crazy crazy kids. 

Oh goodness

Tonight, my mason and I did not have a good night.  I am sick with bronchitis and a sinus infection, Nate and conner are up at eagle river, and I have a 22 month old.who will not keep his diaper on and peed on the floor (with an occasional #2 thrown in for good measure.  After he took it off in his crib and peed on his bedding, I lost it.  Ugly cry and all.  I spanked his but and just started screaming.  Not a proud mommy moment, at.all.  after I changed his bedding, his tear.streaked face.just broke my heart.  I gave him a huge hug, and about a million kisses saying how sorry I was and I should not yell and scream like that.  Hopefully, like someone on facepage said, he will forget since kids have the attention spans of knats.  I sure hope he won't bring it up in some repressed memory session!  Needless to say, I am more than ready for daddy and cdog to get home.  They planted over a 100 trees today, went canoeing (Omg I was hoping he wouldn't want to do that) and went fishing, where he caught not one, but FIVE fish!  Such a little angler.  then they had a bonfire and he got weepy when Blake sheltons, "I went to go home" song came on.  And he broke my heart the last time I talked to.him on Tuesday...he was fine just chatting away then just burst into tears.  Is it bad that I am glad he actually misses me?
Not much on our home front.  My mom came over to watch the twinnies while I went to.the Dr.. then she did my dishes and picked up.  Gotta love mommies! 
I swear, tomorrow will be a better day, and I will smother mason and Madrid in kisses and hugs to make up for my major lapse in good mothering.. and then daddy and conner will.be home and we will all have some much needed family time.  <3 you all so much, and I promise to do better tomorrow.

Wow, a whole entire year

I cannot believe it has been an entire year since I have updated last. Our twinkies are now 16 months and our big brother Conner is 5! Life has been super hectic, with time just flying by us. Mason, you started walking at 10 months and have been on the go since. You are definitely going to keep us on our toes. You already have a nice scar on your left eyebrow from hitting the door with your head:(. But nothing inthe world stops you. We love you so so much. You are saying momma, daddy, puppy, hi and bye bye. You are one smart cookie.
Our whimsical maddie bell, you started walking about 3 weeks after your brother. All your milestones were apart by that much. You are our more quiet and reserved little girl. But you still are so funny. We are so blessed to have you two. I have to say though, absolutely nobody can make either of you laugh the way your big bro does. Good heavens he just has to sneeze and you both laugh at him!
You both are finally sleeping through the night and actually in your cribs!! You slept in your carseats until about 9 months. The key were your pillow pets. We put them in there and you were happy laying down! At the time, you still slept in our room, so you would wake up and see us. Then we moved downstairs and since that night, you have slept through the night. It is amazing!! Such good babies you are:)
And Conner, our big boy. You are so mouthy some days, but those are the days we just hug you even tighter. You love, love, love kindergarten. You have the best teacher in ms. Dhom. She is amazing and you are so lucky to have her. You are getting so good at writing and we feel learning to read is right around the corner. You are even working on math!!
My three babies are growing up so fast. Its hard to believe that we are already into the babies 2nd year and conner's 6th!! We are so blessed to have each of you. We feel so lucky that you each. chose us as your mommy and daddy. We love you 3 more than anything.

11/28/2010

Well we made it through your first Thanksgiving Mason and Madelynn. It was hectic to say the least. You both slept most of the time at G&G Ludois' house. Everyone got to see you for a little bit, but then you both needed a nap. Then when we went to Daddy's G&Gs house, you were sleeping so we put you in a back bedroom. I swear though, it was a little ridiculous of the sprint that happened when someone heard one of you cry. They practically ran in the room to get you. I guess that just shows how much you both are loved.

You both were dressed to the nines, and looked so cute. It was a very hectic day and boy were we glad to be home. You both haven't been sleeping very well at night the last 2 weeks and mommy had been up since about 3 and 330am the two previous days. So needless to say, we all needed sleep badly. Then daddy got the opportunity to get up with you Maddy at about 4 Saturday morning. I have to say it was nice to sleep in a bit:) This weekend has been pretty uneventful since Thanksgiving. We decided not to go up north to see Great G&G Bell. I just thought it would be too much with all three of you on my own with just Grandma. I don't think anyone would have had a super time. We will try soon enough, because your family up in the cities have yet to meet you.

I can't believe yesterday you both turned 4 months old. It seems like just yesterday you were up in Meriter and we were praying that you would come home soon. I asked Daddy yesterday if he can believe we have already made it this far. Who would have known we would be doing so well at 4 months, when we were struggling so much for the first month or two when you came home. We love you guys so much, and I cannot wait for your first Christmas.

Conner butt, you are just such a pill. You make us smile and laugh every.single.day. I hope you always have such a free spirit. Yesterday we were talking and you said, "when I grow up and get bigger, people will pick on me and be mean to me." I assured him, that I doubt he will ever have to worry about that, but it is so sad, that even at 4 years old, kids realize that other people aren't always nice. As a parent, I wish I could always keep you safe, and kick the crap out of people that hurt your feelings. But I know I can't. That is what is so hard. I never want to see you get your feelings hurt, because when I see that happen, it hurts us as parents about a million times more. For right now however, you are definitely the BMOC as Grandpa Mark says. The big man on campus. When you get dropped off for school in the morning, you hear, "Conner, Hey Conner, Conner!" coming from all directions. It is so cute.

The other day when we were talking about school, we asked about your girlfriend. You told us, "Ms. Vogt says there are no girlfriends, just buddies" Oh, I wish that could always be! Such a smart teacher!

You have enjoyed the last 5 days off for Thanksgiving break. It has been nice having you home for so long. I think though, you are anxious to get back and have fun with your buddies. With the babies being so young and it getting colder out, it is alot harder to get out and play. But we still try and have fun inside.

Well my loves, today we are hopefully getting our Christmas tree. Kind of bittersweet because I know that this year is almost over, and my babies are all getting older. There is a Taylor Swift song of her new album called "Never Grow Up" and it is so true. I wish you guys would never grow up and just stay little when life is so simple. Where nobody can hurt you and you still think this world is a safe place. I know growing up is inevitable, but I hope you guys always know that you always have a safe place to go when the world gets to be too much.

XOXO

Mommy

11/22/2010

My angels,

Sorry it has been so long so I have written. It has just been so crazy. Imagine that, a crazy, hectiv life with twinnies and a rambunctious 4 year old?!

Maddy, Oh Maddy. You are our smiley girl. It seems unless you are tired or hungry (or sleeping), you are smiling. Even the few times you wake up at night, or when we are trying to put you to sleep, all you see is your precious gummy smile. It is the best.thing.ever.

Mason, you my dear are a totally different baby since you are on your new formula. It is seriously amazing. You are quite the talker and smiler yourself. We are going to nickname you "squeaky" because that is how you talk. It is so adorable. You also love to be on the move. When we sit you in your swing, you seriously make the whole thing shake by kicking your legs around. I have a feeling you are going to be a little spitfire like your big bro.

You both had your first taste of food on Friday 11/29. I broke the rule of only one thing at a time *shame on me;)*, you both split little jars of bananas and pears. I probably had to give you Maddy, the same spoonful about 4 times before you got it all down. Mason, you on the other hand seemed to really get the hang of it. It was so cute, because when you knew it was your turn you started kicking and flailing your arms and going "mMm, MmM" You both seemed to really like it. With having both of you eating solids, I am going to try and be "thrifty" and make your baby food. I apologize in advance:)

Mason, you are SO close to rolling over. The other night when I was gone, daddy had you on your floor mat. You rolled completley on your side, and then passed out. You stayed there until he rolled you back on your back, where you fell fast asleep, with arms wide open and on your sister.

Maddy, you are close too, but we still need to work more because you are just content chilling however you sit you down.

Both of you are still sleeping in your darn carseats. We try our hardest and usually lay you down in the crib downstairs for your nap first, then when you wake up we end up putting you back in your carseat. It just doesn't seem like either of you get a very restful night sleep. Granted you are sleeping mostly through the night, but you both seem so tired the next day and if you do wake up during the night you are arching your back like you want to lay flat. Oh how I wish I could understand babytalk or you could tell me what you wanted.

You both had a great Halloween. You didn't stay in your costumes too long however. Maddy, you didn't even make it out of the driveway. You were in a big pumpkin costume and Mason, you wore Conner's lion costume from his first Halloween. You didn't walk around with us, because it was pretty chilly. Instead you stayed with Great Grandma and Grandpa Ahern at their house, and then when we went and saw Great Aunt Tammy and Uncle Scott, they watched you while we walked around their neighborhood.

I can't believe though, your first official holiday is over. Now Thanksgiving is in a few days and then this Saturday you will be 4 months. Time is just going too fast and you guys are growing up way to quickly.

We are going to try and take you both up, along with your big brother to Great G&G Bell's house this weekend. I think Grandma Kim and I are out of our minds, but hey, we might as well give it a whirl. I may end up being committed in the end, but I really want all of us to get up there, I just wish daddy were coming along. Not only because we will definitely miss him, but it SURE would be nice to have an extra set of hands.

I love you both so much. When I look at you, it is hard to even remember how long we waited for you. You both are so wonderful, I hope you never forget that.

Conner butt, you my love, definitely keep us on our toes. You are just too darn smart for you own good. You are learning your days of the week and can spell anything you see. You suprised us all when you were talking about your friend Griffin, and you said, my friend G-R-I-F-F-I-N. The things you are learning just amaze us. We are really trying to work with you on sounding things out. Because since you are so good at spelling we feel it is just a matter of time before you start being able to read.

The love you have for your brother and sister makes us smile. You always make sure to give your brother and sister a kiss and hug before you leave for school. And you tell us all the time, " I love my sister and brother". The other day after I got the babies dressed, I was holding Madelynn and you said, "OH, she looks beautiful!" I hope you always love your brother and sister this much.

I love you all so much, don't ever for get that

XOXO

Mom

10/30/2010

My dear babies,

I can't believe you two are already 3 months old. The time has just flown by so fast. You both are doing so great. You are sleeping through the night, for the most part, and smiling and coo-ing up a storm. Both of your smiles just melt our hearts. Your big brother can make both of you smile like no one else can. He just walks by and you both smile so big. I hope you still feel that way about each other as you get older!

Mason, you are doing SO much better on your new formula. You honestly are like a whole different baby. I am so glad we finally found a formula that seems to work for you. I hate to think of how miserable you were for the first 2 1/2 months. You are so alert, all the time. You love to have your eyes wide open, and to catch everything that is going on. You like to be sitting up alot more now than laying down. So we just sit you in the crook of our arm when we are sitting around the house. And you are just perfectly content just looking around, taking everything in.

You have your little half smile/smirk going on. I think you are going to be a ladies man just like your big brother. You have a little shyness to you too when you smile. You always turn your head to the side. It is so adorable.

You are doing fairly well at night with sleeping. However, you have been waking up it seems almost 10 times a night for your pacifier. We give it to you, and off to sleep you go. Repeat this cycle about 9 more times, and then it is time to get up!

But you are doing so great. You can see that you are bigger than your sister now. You "look" thinner, but you can feel the weight difference as soon as we pick you up. You are solid, just like Conner. I see alot of similarities between your big brother and you.

Maddy, you are our easy going girl. Your smile is just infectious. You are starting to laugh too, and that is just absolutely adorable. You seem to talk alot more than your brother does. I hope that is not a sign of things to come, seeing that when I was little, you could NOT get me to shut up!

You are a great sleeper and eater too. Like I said, just easy going. Last night you were crying and daddy picked you up and held you on his stomach while he was standing up. You proceeded to fall asleep in about two minutes with your legs on each side of his stomach and your head tilted back. You don't care where you are, or what is going on. You just go with the flow!

You have the biggest, squishy little cheeks, and look SO much like I did when I was a baby. You have a few chins as well. A few weeks ago you had your head tilted back and I noticed in one of the skin folds of your neck it was starting to chafe a little bit. So now we make sure to clean under your little chins to keep it nice and dry! And boy do you NOT like that!

I cannot believe that your first holiday is coming up (if you don't count Labor day!) Halloween is tomorrow and we were going to have you both go as M&M's, but we decided to use two costumes that we have at home. Maddy, you are going to be a pumpin, and Mason, you are going to wear the lion costume that Conner wore for his first Halloween. It is going to be cold, but I can't wait to take you guys out tomorrow.

Oh my sweet, sweet Conner. You my love, have been trying every.single.ounce. of our patience this past week. I do not know if having the twins is catching up with you, and you are getting jealous or what. But good heavens. The constant , "Mommy, daddys being ruuuuuude", or vis versa and "Your being mean" is grating SO much on our nerves. When you get an attitude and I tell you to please NOT talk like that, I get "Don't talk like that" shot right back at me in a very mocking voice. Oh yes, to be 4 years old. I wish I could understand what is going on in your little head. I talked to you the other day, and asked you, "Are you feeling like you aren't getting enough attention? That we are paying too much attention to the babies?" You got all shy, and didn't want to answer me, which gave me my answer. I told you to be honest with me and that you could tell me how you really felt. And you finally told me that yes, you felt like you weren't getting enough attention. I just want you to know, we try SO SO SO hard to give you your "special" time. We know going through getting two new siblings at once is not an easy process. It hasn't been for us either. I just hope that you know we love you more than anything in this entire world, and we are sincerely trying our very best.

Last Saturday, you woke up and went into our room. Daddy and the babies were still sleeping, and I was downstairs working. I came up to snuggle with you guys, and dad told me that when you came in, you hopped up on the bed and said, "Let's talk about something" and got under the covers. So you and daddy proceeded to talk about school and cartoons among other various subjects. It is moments like those that I don't want to forget. You are so special Conner. And if your brother and sister grow up to be even 1/2 as great as you are, we are truly, truly blessed. I know they have a great role model to look up to.

On another note, tomorrow you are going to wear your Bumblebee costume for Halloween! You love Transformers. Daddy and you had orginally picked out a Wolverine costume, and I have to admit it was pretty awesome looking. But after wearing it only a few times, it started to rip. When we took it back they didn't have any bigger sizes, so we ended up getting you Bumblebee. It will be interesting Trick or Treating with three kids tomorrow, but I have a feeling we will just have Mason and Maddy in their carseats in the stroller so it will be easier to chase after you!

Well my loves, I need to go hang up the 50 million pounds of your clothes that are piling up in the laundry room. I hope you know how much daddy and I love you.

XOXO

Mom