Micah & Victoria Turn 3!

 After returning from Shake Shack, we celebrated Micah & Victoria's 3rd birthday.  Lightning McQueen is such a prominent presence in our house it seemed fitting that he was on the cake.  Victoria loves Sally as she is the girl car and was happy to have her on the cake as well.

 There was some goofiness at cake time.

 Afterwards, we open presents.  It was great having the cousins here for this.  Victoria got a Sophia castle which required some assembly.  Amelia was happy to help set this up.  Avery, on the other hand, help set up one of Micah's McQueen playsets.  So interesting how early kids separate into gender roles.

 Mommy gave Micah a HUGE McQueen decal to put in his new big boy room.  He loved it!  It certainly helped with the transition to having his own room.

Thanks to Aunt Diane for helping me get this up.  I never could have done it by myself given how large was the decal.



 Thanks to Oma and Opa for indulging at 3 year olds love of princesses.  We wear this dress on an almost daily basis after coming home from school. 

 

Birthday S'mores treats that Micah & Victoria took to preschool to celebrate.  Idea thanks to Odell's vacation bible school.  I was informed by their teacher these were a hit for 3 year olds.

More Fun with the Cousins

 One day we decided to hang low and enjoy time with everyone.  We took the cousins to one of the cooling centers since the weather was lovely.  The older ones enjoyed the water while the twins hung back a bit.

 That evening we took them to one of our favorite places to eat... Shake Shake.  This is a hamburger joint with good shakes.  There is an open green space outside which makes it ideal for families.  The kids grabbed some picnic tables while the weather was good.

 Unfortunately, the weather did not stay good.  Halfway through eating dark clouds rolled in and it started raining.  We grabbed everything and headed in doors... along with everyone else.  The only place for us was to sit along the window ledge and finish our food their.  Everyone dealt with this issue well until we had to get to the car.  We ran as quick as we could as no one had umbrellas.  Diane and I each took one of the twins while running.  Sweet crying from them filled the air.  I'm sure we were a sight to see... 4 kids and 2 screaming while held by running adults.

The Museum of Science

After riding the Duck Tour, we headed to the Museum of Science for an afternoon of discovery.  We spent a larger portion in the exhibit 'Science in the Park'. 

 Here there was a seesaw where balancing was the challenge.  It took all of use to find a combination that worked just right.

 This was one of the more popular activities.  You can race each other or a row of lights to see which is faster.  At the beginning you can select how fast you want the lights to travel down the bar.  There was multiple attempts at this activity with Avery and Micah making up the majority.

One little girl wanted nothing to do with the racing.  Instead she chose to talk on a phone that was near the finish line.  Who she was talking to I will never know.  When I would ask she would just give me a devilish smile.

The Cousins are HERE!

It was hard to contain the excitement when the kiddos found out the cousins were coming to visit this summer.  Almost every night before bed Izzy would has 'how many more days?'.  The first thing we did to acquaint the cousins to Boston was a Duck Tour.

 All aboard!

 Amelia's shadow for almost the entire time.  I don't know who liked it more, Amelia or Victoria.

 Best buddies.

 Our captain, Captain Blackeye.

 Once we got afloat, Captain Blackeye asked if anyone wanted to drive the Duck Boat in a quieter section of the Charles River.  Avery was quick to step up.  Soon his sister followed.  Micah and Victoria accompanied both up front but refused to sit in the driver's seat.

 

Izzy Has Her Tonsils Out

 It was clear when Izzy was a toddler that she was obstructing when sleeping.  I learned that when I had to sleep with her in Oma & Opa's trailer when the new house was being built.  I had to wake up and reposition her every 20-30 minutes.  She then had her adenoids removed which resolved everything.  Life was good.  Overtime though she started to snore like an old man.  This eventually led to having her tonsils removed.  I loved her ORL, Dr. Lee.  Izzy can always remember him as he calls her tonsils meatballs.  So over the summer she had them removed.  One nice thing about doing this at the hospital you work at... your daughter is treated like royalty.  Her anesthesiologist was the program director.  Everyone in pre-op knew me from doing botox.  She was spoiled with activities to keep her busy before going back to the OR.  She did better than expected and recovered nicely especially with the help of Oma who stayed with us the two weeks she was out.

Izzy's tonsils before... bye meatballs!

Izzy's tonsils after... I think I see daylight!

While Izzy was at home recovering, the twins needed to get out.  So off to the zoo for just some mommy and twin time.  I don't always get that.  Their twin activities are so funny.  Enjoy!

 

To view the video, please go to the main blog.  Apologies for the video being sideways.