7 Quick Takes, with extra poop!

--1--

Prayers and prayers and prayers for Jen and her family - praying that they can take their new baby home soon to be loved and loved and loved on by all his siblings!

--2--

Can I get a little mushy with you?  Good.

Every once in a while the big kids (usually John Paul) wake up in the middle of the night because one of them (John Paul) desperately needs to pee.  And while I'm not a huge fan of this, last night it happened at about 9:30, when the twins had already been down for a good 20 minutes and I was still wide awake and upstairs. 

So I was (is this weird?) actually really happy to go help them out.  I think John Paul was the original whiner, but Cecilia woke up when I opened the door, and I took that little bed-headed toddler with her big belly in her footie pajamas to the bathroom.  She clung to me, squinting, as she did her thing.  And I was SO happy to be helping her because it was a moment when I just had ONE child with me and could give all my attention to ONE child!  This is something that pretty much never happens during the day and I feel kind of terrible about it - there's just always a baby or two that needs to be held or nursed and the big kids get the shaft...

I snuggled her for a minute and took her back to bed, tucking her in, kissing her, and watching her pull my old Care Bear blanket up over her head.

I was almost out the door when I heard, "Um...  A kiss???  On da mouf???"

So I pawed at the sheets in the dark, looking for her head, only to find that she had mashed it up under a rung of the ladder on their bunk bed, expecting me to find it somehow.  And I did, and got the sweetest little toddler kiss, and then contemplated waking them up every night to snuggle with no babies in the way.

Then I realized I was crazy.

But really, they're just so sweet when they're sleepy and snuggly!  And it wasn't long ago that I was nursing this roly poly baby to sleep every naptime and night...

 

And now she's big enough to hold a baby by herself! 

 

Well, almost by herself...

 

--3--

 

We got a sand and water table at Costco and, even without sand (because who has time to buy sand???), the kids are LOVING it!  They spent quite a while in sweaters playing with it on Sunday, and in their swimsuits on Monday (hey there, 80 degrees!  Long time no see!).  And they've been playing with it every day since then. 

 

It was like, 55 or 60...  But she HAD to wear a hat.  And a sweater.  And long pants...

And he was still in his sweater from church.  They got VERY wet.

John Paul had to read the instruction manual, of course.

Apparently her Mary veil is the most appropriate swimsuit accessory.

Modeling her new swimsuit!

 

--4--

 

We have tulips!  These are the pictures I *wanted* to take for Theme Thursday, but then it was 8 o'clock and there was no sunlight and I was kind of nursing two babies...

 

Look!

 

 

Yellow

 

 

and PINK!

 

 

 

And a trillion more that are just about to bloom!

 

--5--

 

*crinkle crinkle crinkle* "I need heeeeeeelp?"

 

"With what?"

 

"With the Bisquick..."

 

 

--6--

 

 

What made them both laugh?  Me gnashing my teeth.  Of course!

 

--7--

 

My last take is dedicated to Grace, and if you don't want to read about poop, stop right here.

 

When Cecilia was Bash's age, she pooped in the tub.  Not once, not twice, but on a semi-regular basis over the course of several constipated weeks.  Thankfully it was always solid, but I got pretty good at anticipating and holding a cup or a bowl or something near her to catch it.

 

But I didn't always catch it... 

 

She would stand up and hold on to the faucet, making her poop face:

 

Yes, I took a picture of my child pooping.  And then I posted it on the internet.

But the first time it happened, we didn't expect it!  Andrew and I were putting away laundry in the next room when we heard John Paul shriek, "POOOOOOP!!!"

 

We ran into the bathroom and, lo and behold, Cecilia had pooped in the tub.  Gross.  I immediately stuck my bare hand in there, fished it out, threw it in the toilet, and washed my hands several times.

 

Then we drained the tub and the kids got baths and the tub got cleaned...  And we got really good at anticipating and catching.  But hey, they poop in their diapers all the time - as long as you don't find them holding a turd with a tooth mark in it (that's a story for another day...  or maybe never), you're free & clear!

 

Okay, I'm all done - check out other Quick Takes at Camp Patton this week!