Mr. Shark

In honor of shark week starting tonight, we've got our shark gear on!!

This picture was actually taken last month but seemed appropriate to post today. hehe!

 I have to admit that I LOVE the boys section at Crazy 8!! The've got some cute stuff for girls as well, but lets face it, there are TONS of clothes for girls. I never get all that excited about shopping for the next size when Andrew needs them (and I have been fortunate enough to this point to still be benefitting from lots of hand me downs from Aunt Kayla and some fellow twin moms) BUT I could honestly buy out the Crazy 8 boys section!!!

Never a dull moment

As you can see, this boy is no longer allowed in the kitchen when I'm making dinner!

I had my back turned only for a few moments and then find him in the middle of the table. Oh this boy!! 

Against my better judgement, I let him stay a few extra moments while I snapped pictures!

AGAIN, neither of his sisters EVER did this! I had to have proof of the "trouble" this little one likes to get into.

Being the third baby in the house, I do tend to be a little more relaxed about his "adventures" but he always seems to remind me that he really can't be left unsupervised, even for a moment 

what a rascal!!

*These pictures were actually from a few weeks ago and his climbing skills are even faster and more fearless now!!! I just keep praying that when he tumbles he stays away from landing on his head and/or teeth!! Just last week he flipped off the back side of the couch. And now that the carpet is gone, it wasn't such a soft landing. I sure wish this boy would quit giving me heart attacks!

Shark shop

Can't visit Port A without a visit to the shark shop

outside the store was a silly old man and his monkey.... needless to say we had to have our picture taken with the monkey

Meet April, the monkey.

the girls were never to sure about seeing a her so close

Then all of sudden this crazy man put April on my head! As you can see, I was definitely caught off guard

The girls definitely thought this was funny

watch out

All the girls in their mexican attire

Best photo!!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!

I don't think I could have gotten a better one if I tried!

Our final morning at the beach and we headed down to the sand one last time

come on Tia 

me too

twinks with Tia and Tita 

Our favorite Tia! 

watch out Andrew...he's going to get you

wahoo!!!!

ok girls...just dip your toes in 

                                                   sporting the soccer glasses

our family of five

Not sure what made us think that just because it was chilly and no swimsuits we on that these girls were going to stay dry....

 

they were definitely drenched!! 

sweet girls and their Daddy 

high five Tita 

Sweet boy 

I love you!

Mommy and Daddy

15 months

This little guy is 15 months old! WOW!!! I think I say that at every post but it never ceases to amaze me how fast the kids are growing up. Since turning one this little man has certainly become a little fireball. He definitely has opinions for what he wants and doesn't want. The pouting over the last couple of months has also risen to new levels. We have had some full on temper tantrums (especially when tired)  I honestly didn't experience this with the girls. Yes, a few fits every now and again but short lived for sure. Andrew has definitely given me a run for my money on more than one occassion with his tantrums. And he is so strong at this point that I feel like I'm going to have to hit the weights in order to keep this boy in line ;)

I think the hardest thing for me right now is that he is a "wanderer"....is that a word?? He doesn't have near the crowd anxiety that the girls did. Neither of the girls would wander down the street or off into the woods at the park alone. Andrew on the other hand seems to be a one man circus who wants to go wherever his feet will take him. Now if someone tries to pick him up or go near him (stranger that is) he will definitely run in the opposite direction BUT you turn your head for one second and he can easily be out of eyesight. He is lightening fast and I'm not exaggerating!

He is, of course, the sweetest boy too. His giggle is so contagious and can certainly change a frown upside down. hehe! He loves to be chased! The girls love to play chase with him and it does generally end with someone falling but it is so much fun. He and Elizabeth are still best buds! Olivia does have a lot more interaction with him and does love to play with him, but Elizabeth has been giving him her undivided attention since he was tiny and he does seem to be drawn to her just a little bit more. Peak a boo is one of their favorites. The peek a boo bear crawl will have you in tears laughing.

Bedtime kisses are also my favorite! Even when I get caught up and forget that Andrew hasn't given them their goodnight kiss he will walk right in their room before we go to  his and climb up in their bed for a kiss. And just as quickly as he enters their room he heads straight for his. So adorable!!! He knows after we brush our teeth that means it's time for kisses. :) Generally, all three go to bed at the same time but on every once in awhile Drew will fall asleep before the girls and it is always Elizabeth who gets upset when she realizes no goodnight kiss from her brother. She has begged me on several occassions to actually wake him up. It really is so amazing to see the bond that is continously growing between all three of them. I love them more than words can describe!!

He still loves his sports balls. He doesn't necessarily play with them a lot during the day with us but
the moment Daddy comes home, he immediately takes him the basketball or football. Since we are in basketball season right now and the hoop is out in the living room, it is normally the basketball he takes to Daddy so he can practice his shooting.

Verbally, he still isn't saying a whole lot. Mostly still just different sounds. He is definitely making the sounds with intent now instead of just random noises but still not real concrete words for anything. Does take commands (for the most part) really well. He does understand when you ask him to do things or get things. The girls were really late talkers too and seeing as how we can't keep them quiet now, I'm not too worried about it at this point.

He does eat a good portion of table food. When it comes to breads, pastas, crackers, chicken and eggs he can literally eat his weight. With a lot of other food he is still a little picky. When it comes to fruits and vegetables we are having major texture issues. It's not that he doesn't like the taste, it seems to be the texture. So in order to make sure he does get plenty of fruits and vegetables, I still give him the organic plum tots sqeezables. He sucks those down in no time flat. Hopefully another few months and he won't be so picky.

Although the girls do watch their share of TV and movies, Drew hasn't been all that interested in most of it. It may catch his eye and he'll watch for a couple minutes but most things don't keep his attention. There is one exception to this....He LOVES "Lily and Leap" (the Leapfrog videos). These videos will calm him in no time flat and he will watch the full 30-45 min ( I forget how long they are?). He loves them!! They are my saving grace when trying to fix dinner :)

The dogs....He LOVES the dogs!!! He honestly can not get enough of Sadie and Rupert!! He giggles and chases them everywhere! Neither of our dogs have tails but rather little nubs. They do still "wag" their nubs and Andrew thinks this is hysterical. He tries to grab and hold on but usually is unsuccessful. The dogs don't seem to care greatly and it sure gives us all the giggles. Although Sadie borders on a little hyper, we have been so fortunate to have such great dogs that do so well with all the kids! They were our first "babies" after all.

he loves Rupert 

just chillin together 

quality time with Sadie too 

she loves her belly rubbed

It's definitely a crazy house right now and our little man is making sure to keep us on our toes!! As crazy as it may be, I just couldn't imagine life any other way!!

HAPPY 15 MONTHS BIG BOY!

Twin Day

Last week we met up with three other sets of twins for a wild and crazy day!

Oh yes, that means we were 4 mommies to 10 kids!! Holy moly!!!

Logan and Landon were the first we met at the dolphin pool.

I love the far end of the dolphin pool because it's just the perfect height for Drew to get right in the mix. He's tall enough to see over and yet not quite tall enough to completely get his leg up on the wall to climb. I'm afraid it won't be long until he figures it out but for now...it's perfect!

Logan, Liv, Liz, Landon, and Drew

The rest of the crew is here!

It wasn't busy at all and we pretty much had the run of the aquarium

Drew fascinated with fish

watch out...the natives are getting crazy!

Only picture I got from the whole day with ALL TEN kids!!!

monkeys on the loose

Every time I turned around Andrew kept running back to this tank! Not sure what it was about this tank but once he laid eyes on it, I was constantly chasing him down. Little booger ;)

How cute is this?

Liv, Ava, Ashley,Liz, Hannah, Logan, Morgan and Blake

water time...

Drew hanging with the moms

"Come on Mommy"

Hartman, King and Lewis twins enjoying Sesame show

(McCallum twins are little younger and still not sure about the characters yet so they were in the back with their mommy)

Elizabeth was enjoying the attention "the boys" were giving her. Although the pictures didn't quite capture it, she was grinning and giggling all the way to the exit.

We had a GREAT day with all the kids! No major meltdowns from ANYONE!! Everyone was well behaved and even we moms had fun catching up.

Breakdown of crew

Hartman fraternal twin girls-3.5yrs- plus Andrew (15mo)

King identical twin girls- 3yrs- plus Hannah (19mo)

McCallum boy/girl twins - 2yrs-Morgan and Blake

Lewis identical twin boys - 3yrs- Logan and Landon

and mommies- Tiffany, Kim, and Karen