Thurs. Sept. 25, 2014: family apple picking

Tristan is 3 weeks old!

Logan is 3 weeks old!

 Yes, there are 2 babies in there

 Shelley, Micaela and Riley

 Mommy, Tristan & Logan, Amelia, Anna and Sophie

Our family of 6

 Running with Daddy

 Grandma Cathy came for a visit

 Great Grandma Charlotte and Tristan

 Tristan's first bath

 Logan's first bath

 "Who's who?" Aunt Amy is very creative

 Uncle Earl stopped by to meet his new nephews

 They love to cuddle

 Playmates

 Great Grandpa John giving art lessons to Micaela

As you might guess from the name, apple picking is very big in Appleton this time of year. We decided to make it a family outing and met some friends at a nearby orchard. While Tristan and Logan didn't pick any apples from the trees, they did cooperate and slept together the entire time in our moby wrap. Micaela picked a few apples then decided to eat one and run up and down the orchard rows. Riley did very well and was excited to help fill a bag with the low-hanging fruit while Daddy picked from the high branches that no one else could reach. We came home with 43 lbs of apples, so please send me your favorite apple recipes! Or better yet, come here and bake them for us!

This week the boys met Grandma Cathy, Great Grandma Charlotte and Great Grandpa John. They came to stay with us for the week and we kept them very busy. I'm so grateful for all the help with dishes, laundry, the kids and everything else that they did. 

We also had a quick visit from Uncle Earl. It was just for a few hours but the girls were of course thrilled to see him. I'm sure the twins will love to get to know him too.

We are really impressed with how well Riley is adjusting to the new household and starting all-day kindergarten. She's so excited to have brothers and is always checking on how they are doing. Her transition into kindergarten has gone very well. She seems to really like school and while she does sometimes say she misses preschool, overall she is very enthusiastic about all they do, especially going to different teachers for art, gym and music. Last week she was the first one from her class to be chosen for a swoops award, a special recognition from the principal given to students who have done exceptionally well in school that week. We are so proud of her.  

Micaela is also very happy to have brothers and is always saying, "I love you baby." She's very good at telling the twins apart and is a loving sister. She is, however, having a bit of a rough time losing her status as the baby of the family. Typical of her age she had started challenging us before the twins were born but it has reached new levels since we brought the babies home. We hear a lot of "NO!" from her and there have been more temper tantrums. This isn't unexpected and I know that with time she will settle down and be our sweet little Micaela again. At least that's what I keep telling myself.