Trick or Treat

With two hungry babies loudly "telling" me they needed immediate attention, a four-year-old insisting he needed help putting his shoes on so he could go trick or treating, about 15 trick or treaters already at the door and a cat meowing to be fed I think labeling it as a stressful few hours is an understatement. I was counting the minutes until John got home from work. Unfortunately that did not happen until the trick or treat hours were over. Thankfully Hunter is a pretty easy-going kid who does not throw temper tantrums. I put him in charge of candy and told him we'd trick or treat after I had nursed Tyler and Brody and then fed Roman afterwards. At one point I had to change diapers upstairs in the nursery and I heard the doorbell ring. I thought it odd because I knew Hunter was handing out candy. When I came down I saw him at the door doing just that. I asked him if everything was okay and he told me it was. I said, "Oh, I heard the doorbell ring so I thought you weren't handing out candy anymore." He said, "No, see...I'm handing these out!" I looked and he had opened up an individually wrapped package of Runts intended to be handed out in its entirety and was giving each kid ONE runt (not the package). We're for sure going to be called the stingy house after that one. Too funny! It definitely lightened my mood. After getting everyone ready for the adventure we headed out around our block. Hunter hit all the houses he could while I pushed Tyler and Brody in the double stroller. Brody screamed his head off the entire time and I'm not sure why. Once John got home it was much more manageable. We had night-time trick or treating to look forward to. Since it was 35 degrees tonight Brody and Tyler stayed home with John and Hunter and I got some alone time. It was much more fun than this afternoon.

Baptism

Brody and Tyler were baptised one week ago today. YAY! We sat with the normal congregation (instead of in the crying room) and they did so well. Of course it did help that they were being held the whole entire time. They did not cry even one bit during the ceremony and only started a little bit during pictures on the altar afterward because they were getting hungry. My sister's family and my mom were here for the week, which was super fun! We did some typical fall-type activities since they all live in Arizona and don't get to experience that too often. We jumped in leaves, went apple picking, went to the Wehr Nature Center for their annual "Halloween Haunts," and to a pumpkin farm. We also squeezed in a trip to Monkey Joe's (Hunter's first time and I think he liked this best of all). The weather wasn't too great all week (a lot of rain and pretty cold) but it was sunny the day of the baptism. The boys looked so so cute in their baptismal garments and Hunter looked so spiffy too! It was his first time wearing a tie and he was pretty excited about it. He kept telling everyone he could that he got to wear a tie! I have uploaded some new pics. Brody & Tyler were very happy the whole week because there were extra hands to hold them and walk them around. We had a small gathering of mostly family at our house after the ceremony and Uncle Hank came up to me and said, "How to make grandmothers happy...have twins" and pointed to both Grandmas each holding one baby with big smiles on their faces. Hunter was also very happy to have Grammy and his Aunt/Uncle/Cousins around all week. The house has been very quiet since they all left (with the exception of a little more crying from Tyler and Brody due to the lack of those extra hands)!

Church?

I attempted it and was successful. Church this morning at 9:00 a.m. Got all three ready and arrived with minutes to spare. H, T & B were all VERY good the whole time. It was fabulous. Brody & Tyler slept almost the whole time. Hunter was super well-behaved. John works every Sunday so I've been putting this off for quite some time but I was just really up to the challenge this morning. It was wonderful but no doubt a lot of work getting there. Just carrying everything (both boys in their "buckets," diaper bag, purse, and a bag for things to keep Hunter occupied) was enough for me to contemplate a nap in the crying room. I made Hunter carry "his things" (one bag) because it was physically impossible for me to carry any more. I missed communion but not for lack of trying. I was devising a plan all through mass of how I would accomplish getting up to the altar with two infants and a four-year-old...both buckets? Take one out and leave one in? Carry both with H by my side? Any way you figure it would be a scene to behold. I imagined a lot of people shaking their heads back and forth thinking, "glad it's not me!" Then Hunter needed to go potty and by the time we got back communion was over. Solved that problem! I'm open to suggestions for next week. Just a quick comment about the field trip to the bathroom...when he announced he had to go (despite having gone at home right before we left to try to avoid this dilemma) I looked at both boys in their car seats and said, "now?" He replied with, "just leave them here!" Like I could do that. So I had to lug all 30 pounds of them off to the bathroom all for little H's little bladder. This will get easier!

Shower!

My co-workers threw me a "babies" shower yesterday! Brody and Tyler scored some really great stuff! Lots and lots of cute coordinating outfits, some books and toys. They were the stars of the hour. They were actually there with me, along with Hunter for a short while. I brought them just for the first few minutes because John got off of work at the same time that the shower started. He met me there and picked up the boys to take them back home. It was nice to have them there though for the staff who hadn't had a chance to meet them yet. Although many of them had met them previously because I spent most of the time Hunter was at preschool last week taking them to the three schools where I taught last year so the students and staff could see them. It's the least I could do for all the prayers that were sent our way during the pregnancy! The shower was so unexpected and really super nice of everyone. If anyone is reading from work, THANK YOU again!!! Hunter enjoyed what time he did have there. He left by saying loudly to everyone (a group of at least 20), "Have a nice time! I like your decorations! Especially the fish and the Halloween ones!" He then ran out the door. I wouldn't describe him as a shy boy!

I have been wondering how much Tyler and Brody weigh lately so I weighed myself and then weighed myself again holding each baby. I think they weigh around 15 pounds if my scale is accurate. Brody is slightly heavier than Tyler (no more than a pound and a half). I would have better results from an office visit if we had a Pediatrician but ours has moved to Madison and so we are in the market to find a new one. Any suggestions are welcome!