When Nana came to visit last week, she brought videos for me to keep on my phone so the kids can always see Nana & Papa, even when FaceTime isn’t available. We got bonus Chase and Charlie videos, too. Particularly Sammy. He wants to watch the videos all the time. Every time he sees my phone he says, “Chase. Chase.” It’s really cute.

Here we are watching the videos after work on Friday.

Steven, Sammy and Amaya were particularly cute this week in their Elmo shirts. We were lucky enough to have three hand-me-down shirts from Chase, all in a 2T. We aren’t watching TV yet, but Sammy still knows who Elmo is. Elmo is everywhere!! Though, to be fair, he has a random monster on his shirt today and he looked at it and said, “Elmo.”

Apparently Amaya likes her Elmo shirt more than her pants! Seriously, though, I need these kids to KEEP THEIR CLOTHING ON IN THEIR CRIBS. First come the pants. Then comes the diaper. You know what comes next and this mom isn’t having that.

Back to the beginning of the week… My mom was still here with SSA until Tuesday morning.

Monday morning, I was home with everyone because I had a 3:30pm flight to Vegas for an overnight business trip. That meant I was able to attend the EI session for Steven and Amaya. The teachers this fall are so, so good. They’re smart and knowledgeable about what they’re doing and laser focused on each kid.

Sammy’s sensory eval was completed and he would technically qualify for OT (occupational therapy) but you need to be in the special ed program for that and he will not qualify for special ed (which is a good thing in it’s own right). That means that he’ll still have just monthly sessions with his teacher but Amaya’s teacher is also going to bring activities to our house that will be good for Sammy. Just simple things like toys that vibrate.

Steven’s teacher worked with him on some balance and core exercises and, interestingly, Amaya’s teacher noticed that she forgets to swallow when she’s concentrating on a task. I’d never think to notice that! It’s totally normal, but we can touch her jaw as a reminder if we do see it at home.

One bonus of EI time is that the kids get bubbles in the house!

By the time the kids were up from naps I was already on my way to Vegas but I was treated to photos of kids happy with their peas. It’s always a good idea to start with the veggies. If the noodles or potatoes come first, it will be aaaaaaaall noodles and potatoes. Especially for Bobo.

In the morning, Nana was sure to take some first-of-the-day good morning photos for me, first in their cribs and then at breakfast. That’s what I like to wake up to, if it can’t be with Steven, Sammy and Amaya in person. <3

We had pumpkins last weekend and Tuesday was the EI “school” trip to an apple orchard. Summer is over! It was so much fun for the kids, especially Steven who loves the animals. Sammy and Amaya prefer them from a distance. And everyone knows the goat says, “Maaaaaa.” That’s a fairly new one.

Donuts!!

Mmmmmm.

I love this little series of photos. At the end of nap time on Tuesday, only Steven was awake. He got a little one on one Megan time while Amaya and Sammy got a few more minutes of sleep. Sleeping kids are the best. I just love the sprawl.

Here’s one more random cute photo of Sammy’s sleeping sprawl.

Wednesday was another big day. We had morning play time where you can see that Amaya and Steven were playing very nicely with their mega blocks.

Everyone was ready for Stephanie to arrive so they could all go to music class.

More fun at music this week!

Wednesday afternoon, midway through naps, Sammy headed off with Grandma Sunshine for an overnight adventure. When he arrived, Big Head Daddy was there waiting to welcome him.

While Sammy was off having fun, Amaya and Steven had some fun of their own. Amaya took off her shirt and (mostly) put it back on – inside out and backwards – but back on!

Steven started his winter prep.

On Thursday morning they had cuddles and playtime.

Sammy was lucky to have lots of toys to play with and then a trip to the Lansing local Potter Park zoo! Such a fun adventure with Grandma Sunshine!

Then, before we knew it, Sammy was home. “Bubba home,” he said.

There was more than enough time for playtime outside. We’re taking advantage of it while we can.

Big kids

Next thing we knew, it was Friday! Weekend!! How do we celebrate?!? With socks on our ears! The perfect place for socks, of course.

We had a very lazy weekend at home. Our big adventure was brunch out on Sunday. Amaya went to the grocery store with Daddy and was excited to finally see a real PAPAYA! It came home with us.

We had some coloring time.

Rides on Fudgie the Whale!

Playtime with Daddy.

And story time with Daddy!

I didn’t get the blog out yesterday because I was at an emergency vet appointment with Sally. She’s okay, but my best big girl needed her momma last night.

As a result, there are bonus Monday photos! Sammy and Amaya’s teachers came for EI today and, in the afternoon, it was beautiful out so we made the most of the nice weather.

When I come home from work, Sammy greets me at the gate and immediately says, “Shoes! Shoes!” All he wants are my shoes. Or boots. Today it was “Boots!” I’m a sucker and I always give in so off came the boots I was wearing and out came my snow boots.

Steven got the first shot at the snow boots.

Sammy wanted his turn, too.

We have a fairly regular bedtime routine. We go upstairs around 6:30pm for quiet playtime. We play and read books for about half an hour and, shortly after 7pm, we brush teeth. By 7:15pm, it’s time for cribs. Here was a bit of story time tonight!

Before I wrap up, I’ll share some photos from last week, matched up with Chase when he first wore the shirts. We’re so lucky to have all of these great hand me downs from our big cousins!