Kicking off the Holiday Season.....

...... Boland Style!!!!

Its officially my favorite time of year!!!

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house. It was great and I finally got to use the china I got when Ben and I got married.  We had about 20 people and the most delish meal I have had in months. The babies loved it because they were SPOILED ROTTEN all day long by everyone. I think it was the best Thanksgiving I can remember having. I did learn that hosting is a lot of work, especially when you have 3 little turkeys of your own.

My favorite Thanksgiving decor!

 Ben and Zach with the Turkey they fried...mmm mmm!!

Here we are with Nana, Grandpa, and Aunt Laura (who has her Reece Piece of course)

Ben's Aunt Beth has a tradition of giving all the nieces and nephews a Christmas ornament every year on Thanksgiving. The ornaments are always great but this year she really knocked it out of the park. It even made me cry.  Check it out.....a mama duck and her 3 baby ducks.......couldn't be more perfect! I LOVE IT.

We have had lots of firsts lately, including our 1st ponytail!!!!! Oh, and this could be my favorite picture I have ever taken of Louise. That closed mouth smile makes me melt...

 

I think the helmet make a perfect frame for her new ponytail!

And this is what her hair looks like when we take it out.......YIKES!!!!

 

We also now have a WALKING baby on our hands.... Its Charlie! I'll try to get up a video soon.

 As for the tooth count, Reece is creeping up on Charlie and may have more teeth than him soon!

And she's also been doing plenty of reading out loud...even if she is the only person who speaks that particular language!!!

The Holiday season also has us getting creative with baby proofing.......

No grippys on the bottom of the pjs that fit my peanuts.......but puff paint does the job

Who ever thought a yardstick would be such a life saver

And while Reece and Louise are busy looking at pictures and reading, Charlie likes to play a game called "Don't Stop Until all of the Books are Off of the Shelf"

Happy 4th

4 years ago I married a guy from Little Mountain, SC. We were young, in love and ready to face the world together. Out of all of our friends, we were the 1st to get married.  Ben was still in college, I was working as a nanny. Our biggest worry was where everyone would meet up for "Thirsty Thursday". We were always down for anything.......as long as we were together.

WELL, WHAT A DIFFERENCE 4 YEARS CAN MAKE......

So much has changed in our lives. Our responsibilities are overwhelming. Day to day life is challenging to say the least with 3 young babies. We have learned that parenting is one of the hardest parts of marriage. Even though things have changed a bit I think the same core principle holds true. We can do anything......as long as we're together.

Happy 4th Anniversary Ben!!! I love you so much!!! This year, we can say we have more years under our belt than children.  Hooray!!!

Call me crazy, but i like to celebrate my anniversary in my wedding dress (its no crazier than those "trash the dress" pictures people are doing these days).  I don't think the most expensive item of clothing I've ever owned should only be worn once. I happen to LOVE that dress so I wear it. Unfortunately, the milk factory I had going on this time last year didn't allow me to zip my dress. So needless to say, I was super pumped to wear it this year. Matter of fact, this dress is going to have quite a story one day. This year I made Tabbouleh, changed diapers, fed babies and even went to supper club in my wedding dress. Charlie even chewed on the buttons.....

Happy Halloween

Reece

Louise

Tricked out the helmet for the occassion.

Charlie

Our very own pumpkin patch.

It took 2 farmers to grow this pumkin patch!

Pumpkin Patch & a Bubble Bath!!!!

Last week was a very long week for all of us. Reece and Charlie had the croup, and to make matters even worse Charlie had an ear infection, too! All 3 noses were snotty. Louise stayed fairly well, which was good because she had a big day Thursday, with a CT scan in the morning followed by a meeting with Dr. Troup in Greenville. The CT showed that the growth plates in her skull are staying open since her surgery. This is good news on the crainosynostosis front. We were also hoping to hear that the ventricles inside her brain had shrunk in size (this is the hydrocephalus), however, we found out that they are still "huge" and the possibility of putting in a shunt to help drain the extra fluid out of those ventricles is still on the table.  If putting in a shunt happens, that could undo the work we have done to help correct her skull shape with the helmet.  So pretty much, Louise is still in need of prayers. Dr. Troup put it best: "She's not out of the woods, but she is stable for now." To me, that sounds like a good report.

Needless to say, after spending everyday in a Dr's office for a week straight with a different child, by Friday we needed a little "pick me up". We went to the pumpkin patch and had a blast. The babes loved climbing over all the pumpkins. Getting out of the house was just what we needed. We ended the day with the babe's favorite pastime.....a bubble bath.

Louise was found her pumpkin!

Reece loved them all....And Charlie wanted every pumpkin he touched.

We explained to Louise that this one was more her size!

Reece was over it!

And Charlie was hungry (what a surprise)

Bathtime for Reece (with a bubble bow!)

And Charlie

And Splashing Weesie!!!

Fall Fever

We all have fall fever around here! Bring on the pumpkin spice lattes and cooler weather! I don't have much time for chatting....but I wanted to do a quick update.
Like always, these babies are keeping me on my toes. The newest development in the Boland household is that, drum roll please,.....LOUISE IS CRAWLING!!!!Yay!!!! This is HUGE milestone for a baby with a birth history like Louise. We are so proud of her! This means all babies are on the move. Charlie gets more confident with his standing every day. He should be walking soon. Reece was released from physical therapy (another huge goal). Shes cruising along the furniture and should start walking soon too. I'm in for it......
As for the tooth count... Charlie is in the lead with 4 teeth. The girls still don't have any teeth, but they sure do love a teething cookie.
Thanks to the weather we have been able to get out and about more. We are so lucky to have family and friends that will still hang out with us. Here are some pictures of the past few weeks.

LOOK at all that hair!!! Its hiding under her helmet most of the time, but its there. Louise loves teething cookie.

Reece makes sure to coat every square inch of her body with her cookie.

Jazz on the square! Aunt Laney and daddy attempting to keep 3 moving babies on a blanket.

Weezie loves her Haley!

Reece and Mommy waving at the band. Reece loves to wave at anyone and everyone.

Charlie and Thomas having a little "boy time"! Poor Charlie, spends most of his time surrounded by girls.

Daddy's go to trick......line up the babies and feed them puffs!

Playing at the Park! Louise and Reece

This sweet girl has loved to swing since she came home from the hospital.

Happy girl!!!

I don't know who this child is. He looks too big, old and toldder-like to be my Charlie. You make the call...

Now, this is more like it. Charlie pointing at his spit up, "Mama, get it off".

Houston, We have a........Tooth!

Or lets make that 3 teeth. Just when I was beginning to think that I was going to be stuck with toothless children for the rest of my life. Charlie boy got a tooth. Then, another the next day, followed by another the next day. That's right 3 teeth in 3 days! (That number is really kinda starting to haunt me).

 He has been acting like a complete maniac. Up all night, sleeps all day. Bulldozing his poor sisters any chance he gets. I finally called to the pediatrician and asked if teething turns a normal, happy baby into total disaster. Dr. Luci told be to bring him in and she'd give him a look over to make sure everything was OK. Wouldn't ya know it, the poor kids had an ear infection. The "mommy guilt" is setting in.

So needless to say, Charlie has had a hard week. Honestly, we've all had a hard week. Yesterday, the girls went to Junebug's house so I could give my teething, ear infected baby boy the TLC he needs. My prediction is that Miss Reece is the next to get a tooth. She's starting to act-a-fool, too.

Here are some pics of my toothy boy and his sisters...

This is the happiest he has been all week.... MY BIG TOOTH BOY!!!!!

I am refusing to put clothes on Charlie, the drooling is out of control!

Miss Reece

Not so many smiles out of her this week, maybe she's next!

Louise has started rubbing all the stickers off her hat......notice the last man standing.

She has discovered her tongue.