A baker!

Nicholas decided he wanted to "try out" the new bundt cake pan I bought.......and once he found the banana cake mix in the cupboard, he was on his way! :) He and Lexi made the cake all by himself----with Nick even cracking the eggs (and picking out the shells from the mix!) :) I have to say that I was very impressed with the look AND taste of the final product! :)

Carousel Ride

The kids LOVED the carousel ride........Austin especially. He kept saying, "my ride", "my birdy".......so cute! :)

Trip to the Zoo

Since Daddy was off from work today, and Lexi and Nick have off from school this week, we decided to make use of our Season Passes to the Philly Zoo. The babies had a good time-although it is hard to get them out of the

stroller like they sometimes want to........there are too many of them! :) Austin did have a great time feeding the goats, believe it or not. I was shocked that he wasn't afraid. BUT, Emma ATE the goat food! AND SHE LIKED IT!!! LOL.......... :) Never a dull moment-so true! :)

Easter Day 2009

The Bunny came!

Nicholas was super excited this Easter.......he even had a special few telephone calls from the "Bunny" this year (thanks Uncle Vinny!)........this is a great age. So innocent and full of wonder and excitement..........

Happy Easter everyone! :)

Just hanging around..........

Easter Egg time! :)

Since Tom was working OT tonight, I had NO energy to dye eggs with Nicholas AND the little ones.........that would have been just plain CRAZY to do by myself..........so Nick and I had a special "date night", and once the babies went to bed, he and I got busy dying the eggs! :) Actually, he got busy and I just sat and took pictures! :) We bought this cool dye kit that almost makes the eggs look camoflage.........so that was fun to do! Nick made sure to dye an egg my favorite color and one for Dad's favorite color.......very cool! :) And the most fun part for him, was literally dipping his hands in the cups of dye-----he thought that was the BEST thing................oh, to be SIX again! :)

We saw the Bunny!

And, since the kiddos wanted NOTHING to do him, Mommy and Daddy got in the pic as well! Totally unexpected! :)

Easter pics 2009

Off to Picture People we went........ :) The kids did well-no crying episodes or anything.......however STILL NO SMILES!!!! Maybe we'll get smiles by the time they are THREE?!

Let's Play Ball.........

Opening Day for Nick's baseball was Saturday 4/4/09.

He was super excited to march out on the field, and more excited to have his FIRST game. Unfortunately, due to the bad weather, his game was cancelled. :( I am not sure who was more upset-Nick or Daddy! :)

Random pics of the kids....

I thought this one pic was too cute of the kids napping. When I went to wake them up, I found Emma hugging Katie as they slept.........so cute! And here is a pic of the boys-was trying to show you the height difference between the boys.....(And Katie was slouching down some on her knees, so she is taller than Matty, too!)

Camo belt!

Nick tested tonight and earned his camoflage belt!!!! YAY! This means that I now have to pay over $300 for his sparring equipment!!!!! Nothing is cheap anymore, huh?!

Big boy haircuts!

Daddy took Austin the other day for his "first" big boy haircut! He got it cut super short, and now if flipping up the front like Daddy's and Nicky's.........and OMG, he looks sooo much like Nick!!!!

I took Matty yesterday for a similiar haircut, however, b/c he has like SEVEN calics (NO LIE!) we weren't able to cut it as short as Austin's.........but still, soooo stinkin' cute! :)

Mommy's update on weight loss (or maintenance?) LOL

The first two pictures were taken back in January, while the last two were taken this past Sunday. My weight loss has stalled some, as I have not been hitting the gym as I was two months ago. I have lost about 82lbs since 10/7/08, and I am still pleased with that number. I think I can tell the most in my face. I hope to get back to the gym soon, on a more frequent basis, like before..........Please, bug me about it, so I do it! :) :) :) :)

Update on Matthew

So, I got some results back and wanted to share. I spoke with the Endocrinologist today and Matthew's thyroid is just perfect. Yay! He was tested for two growth hormones, and one came back normal, however the second one came back low. BUT, apparently, that is to be expected with a kid that has GI issues. So, this is all good news.

I did get an email from Matty's nutritionist and this is part of it: (referring to Matty's 3 day food diary)

As we expected Matthew's intake is 327% of the RDA for his age - 3306calories average per day ranging from 3101-3622 calories. 866% RDA forprotein at 9.4 grams/kg or 95.3 grams per day average. No micronutrientdeficiencies.

So this is a bit frustrating for me, b/c again, where is all these calories going? Over 3,000 calories/day for a TWO year old? AND he hasn't gained an ounce in FIVE months? It just doesn't add up to me.

In any event, I am in the process of getting a second opinion for his GI issues. Maybe there is something we missed and we can look into........

I am still awaiting the results of Matty's stool testing and his Cystic Fibrosis test that was performed on Wednesday. I'll keep you posted.

NICU Reunion at Sesame Place

We were lucky enough to be invited to the NICU Reunion held at Sesame Place this past weekend. I was very excited to bring the little ones this year, as Katie especially, is very into Elmo. I wasn't sure how they would react.........they LOVED the characters from a DISTANCE, but anytime any character got near them, the crying started! :)

I enjoy these reunions soooo much. It shows me how far my little pumpkins have come in two short years........I feel like I have extended family at the hospital where my four were born......the nurses and doctors will forever be friends of ours......I will never forget the compassion, care, friendship, and even love they showed for us over the past two years. Thank you March of Dimes and Capital Health System-Mercer!!!! :)