Sisters

Lexi's 8th grade social 6/20/09

Lexi looked beautiful for her 8th grade social!!! She wore a stunning yellow dress that was perfect for her! She had a great time with all of her friends! I can't believe she is this old, already! Where's my little 3 year old in her Big Bird shirts???? LOL :)

This is what happens............

when you leave FOUR two year olds alone for about FIVE minutes!!!! They somehow got a hold of a permanent marker (Thanks, Lexi!!! LOL) and had a blast marking themselves up..........and the couch...........and the NEW TV!!!! As my friend Brandi would say, "Never a dull moment!" LOL

Nick's first "campout" with the Cub Scouts.....

Nicholas had his first official campout with the Cub Scouts on 6/19/09. He had a great time.....although he was initially apprehensive about sleeping in a tent! :) He did great, and is looking forward to the next campout at the local Minor League baseball field. :) Great job, Nick!

It's been awhile..........

Yes, it's been awhile since I have blogged here consistently. Unfortunately, it has been a rough month or two with our family. My husband, Tom, and I have separated. He has moved out of the house and I am in the process of filing for a legal separation. Things have been very chaotic, stressful, and of course sad, however, our family has also been surrounded by an outpouring of love and support from our family and friends. For that, I am forever grateful.
In any event, I will try and blog more regularly now, as things are beginning to calm down some, and we are now living our "new normal" if you will.
Thanks for reading and caring about our family. :)

My Matthew.......

My Matthew........my "oldest" of the quadruplets-my Baby A........ :) I had loved the name Matthew, even way before I became pregnant with the babies. So, naturally, as soon as I found out that Baby A was a boy-he became my Matthew. :) Matthew continues to be a "Momma's boy"........he LOVES being right next to me, ALL the time! :) He is my little honeypot-and I am trying to savor these moments that he does want to be so close to me. In regards to speech, he is really coming along. In the past month or so, his words have really picked up-and he amazes me daily with new sayings. I am quite pleased with his progress. In regards to nutrition, he is still struggling. Even with the chaos in my life now, I *try* to give him as much high calorie foods as I can..........I know I haven't done great the past month, but I am trying. We did discover that he did have a slight iron deficiency in his bloodwork, so he now takes an iron supplement daily. Matthew also has a "second opinion" type appointment with a new GI doctor in July-I am anxious to get another opinion. I do plan on taking both Matthew and Katie into the pediatrician this week to see how their weight gain has been this past month-believe it or not, it does "seem" that they feel heavier! :) Matthew is a very determined little boy. He knows what he wants and goes after it----his "shrill piercing" scream is definitely a weapon in his arsenel-once he starts screaming, the other babies tend to give up. It is like nails on a blackboard-trust me! LOL :) When Matty is happy, boy is he happy. He is loveable, cuddly, and super sweet. Even though he remains the tiniest of the bunch, he will always be the "big brother" to the gang. "Small but mighty"-that is my Matthew. :) Mommy loves you, Matty........XOXOXO

My Katie.....

My "surprise" baby.........she has always been such a fighter. Such a "warrior Wilke" as I have called her in the past. She is still quiet, but definitely goes after something if she wants it bad enough. She will fight and her claws will definitely come out. She has a lot of spunk and determination----she will fight hard to the end! :) She has come soooo far in her short life. All four kids receive Speech Therapy for one hour/wk. Katie's speech has really flourished in the past few months. She still has a "squeaky" voice-we sometimes callher Minnie Mouse! LOL :) But still, that is a far cry from when she came home from the NICU, she had absolutely NO VOICE! Katie continues to cuddle up to the men in our family-you can always find her plopped on Uncle Vinny's lap or Poppy's lap. She certainly knows how to work the men! :) LOL. My Katie can be very ornery, but also very sweet. She and Emma are very close-and often hug and kiss each other during the day. Katie is also close with Matty, however, when those two fight, they FIGHT! Katie is growing really well-we continue to thicken her liquids as much as possible.........and we thankfully have had a few weeks of no real sickness with her. I can't believe she is 31 months old already!

My Emma

I can't believe how big she is getting! She is doing great with her speech-her lack of talking is definitely more behavioral than anything else. She can be VERY stubborn and sometimes will not talk if asked to! :) She is soooo smart-she understands sooo much. Emma is the first one to "help" Mommy clean the living room--always picking up stuff off the floor so I can vacuum..........She can be ornery, too, though......She likes to put the other babies "in their place" if you know what I mean. She definitely WANTS control of the other three kids---- :) Emma and Katie are super close-which I absolutely love. You can always find the two of them "conspiring" to do something!!! :) Mommy LOVES you, Emma Rose!!! :) XOXOXOXOXO

Field trip to the Aquarium

I was so excited to chaperone Nick's field trip to the Aquarium this week! :) I was soooo looking forward to spending the day with my handsome six year old son! :) And trust me, it was a much needed "break" for me as well! We had a great time-saw many fishies, sharks, and even hippos and birds! Of course, Nick had to get his face painted-and I think that was the highlight of his trip!!! :)