Summer Time!

I'm long overdue for an update.  Where does the time go?  My days honestly fly by!  All of the boys all have so much to say, and I'm noticing more yelling from them when they talk because they just want their voice to get heard.  Next lesson at the Anema's:  No Interrupting!  Wish me luck.  

A few new things:  Our new bedtime routine is the sweetest thing....the boys still love to sing songs, so we always do that to settle down.  It's a highlight of my day, although all three have a different song that they want to sing, so usually Andrew says "I want to sing Fishers of Men" and so we start singing and about the first line in, Micah starts yelling "NOOOOO!!!!  I want to sing "Hush Little Baby!!", and then Derek screams "NOOOO!!!  I want "This Little Light of Mine!!""  So then we have to talk about taking turns and how we'll get to everyone's song, etc, etc.  The other night Derek kept requesting the song "Ducky Is."  And I kept saying, "What is 'Ducky Is'? I don't know what that one is, Derek!"  And I kept trying to get him to sing it so I'd know.  The other boys were just laughing and laughing like they knew what he was talking about.  Derek was relentless to sing this Ducky song, and finally Andrew said, "Zaccheus!!" And everyone laughed even harder.  Derek was saying "Zaccheus" and they could understand him, but I couldn't.  That happens more often where I need to ask Tyler or one of the other brothers for a translation.  They usually can tell me what the other one is saying, and they think it's really funny that I don't know but they do.  :-)  These little boys....they are such little loves!

Everyone fights over the middle spot on our couch when we watch TV, so on this day, Tyler and Derek decided they would share it.  :)  The little guys (especially Derek) are getting so close to the same size as Tyler!  The other day I got asked if I had quadruplets!!  OH. MY.  I had thoughts of that when I was pregnant....like "what if they find another one in there?  What if one is hiding behind another one on the ultrasound?"  At that point, it's kind of like, "What's one more?!"  :)   

Little cuties.  These two are so much alike in many ways!

You need to watch where you're walking at our house.  At any given point, there could be 3 or 4 "turtles" on the floor, and they pop up and walk when you least expect it!  Cutest thing ever....I'll walk into a room and there will be three baskets on the floor with little giggles coming out of them...  If you want more giggles, all you have to do is say, "Where are the boys?  I can't find them anywhere!!"  Then the turtles REALLY start laughing!

My parents both celebrated a big birthday at the end of April.  They were born one day apart....my mom laid next to my dad and his twin in the hospital when they were born!  How sweet is that?!  For many years I tried to figure out who I laid next to when I was born, b/c I was sure that's how you figured out who you would marry.  I'm glad it didn't work out that way!  :)  We put this picture in the Platte paper to celebrate their big day!  Micah, Andrew, Derek, Tyler, and then my brother Matt's boys, Ethan and Braden.  Cuties!

My team of stylists.  Seriously.  Is there anything more fun?

This digger has been getting a ton of use this summer already!  There is always a "construction site" in our sandbox.  The boys are outside every possible second.  They start begging to go out as soon as they are done eating breakfast....and they are usually out on the deck in their pajamas by 8 a.m. (Oh PLEASE!  Give mama a chance to have her coffee!!).  They love the sandbox, and are really loving the swings this year, too.  Here's Andrew working away....

Micah man.  What a little honey...I kiss those chunky little cheekers as much as he'll let me.  It's a lot..  Even when he's sleeping.  ;)

Look at my amazing organization!  I made chore charts for the boys and hung them in our entry way with pictures to illustrate their chores and dreams of them flipping up their little chore tag when they had a chore completed.  They actually all love to do their chores (make beds, get dressed, brush teeth...).  Tyler loves his chart.  Micah ripped his apart on day one, and Derek and Andrew's came off the wall before they had a chance to do the same.  So....2 year olds are not quite ready for chore charts.  FYI.

 Tyler learning to ride his bike!

 And then out of the garage behind him races the trike gang....it's a little hard to learn when you've got these guys following you!!  ha ha!

Spider man costume on a rummage sale.  It's a BIG HIT!  :)  Derek.

I don't know if you can see this, but I asked Derek to run into the house to get himself a fork one day when we were eating lunch outside.  Do you see how huge this fork is?  He got the turkey fork which was hidden way in the back of the drawer.  I'm learning that with boys bigger is always better!

My little green machines.  We were going to the Pavilion on this day, so I dressed them all in the same color so I could keep track of them.  It's easier to do constant head counts when you just have to look for the same color.  The lady at the Pavilion so nicely pointed out that that is the same method teachers use when they're bringing their class in for a field trip.  Yes, lady.  Every day at the Anema's is like a class outing.  I have a lot of kids, okay?!  :)
Andrew, Micah, Derek, Tyler  Don't they look like quads here??

Tyler and Micah.  I love this picture.  Tyler has become such a sweet big brother (most of the time).  He has been really into sitting right by one of them, or snuggling them.  Micah had just woken up from his nap here, and Tyler was making him laugh.  If I need one of them to wake up, I always send a brother down to get them, usually Tyler.  They all respond better when one of their brothers come down to wake them up.

The goal this summer:  Keep them busy!  We wash the van, wash rocks in the landscaping, scrub the deck, clean the swing set, water the landscaping, clean the wagon out, pick dandelions, etc.  Anything involving water and scrub brushes is SO FUN!

We have ear issues at our house.  Tyler had tubes when he was 9 mo. old due to frequent ear infections.  Those have since fallen out, but the ENT had been watching his ears closely again b/c he had fluid behind them that wasn't going away.  Long story short....Tyler ended up having another set of tubes put in and his adenoids taken out about a month ago.  We're so thankful that it's just done and hopeful that it takes care of everything.  Now on to Derek.  Derek is currently on antibiotics again for an ear infection.  He had tubes in at the same time Micah did (at about 1 year old), but Derek's have never been functioning (first they were plugged, then fell out right away).  We are guessing it won't be long until he needs something else done, too.  Thankful they have such an easy procedure to fix this!

We went to my parents house a few weeks ago and the boys loved running out into the field behind their house.  They love the wide open spaces there!  Micah, Derek, Andrew, Tyler

 Oh sweet Andrew....