I am up at 4 AM, having been awake already for an hour and a half waiting for a boy with a diaper rash to fall back to sleep, and for the other boy (whom I found on the floor when I changed the first boy) to settle back down as well. I figured I might as well post, since I haven’t written a word all summer. It has been an eventful few months to be sure, but my xanga uploader has been hanging up on my laptop, so all my efforts to show you what’s been happening have been foiled. I don’t mind just writing, but I’ve gotten so used to showing all our photos, that my computer problems have stalled my progress.
This spring, we spent a couple months living at my in-laws while my FIL tore out our old kitchen and put in a new, updated kitchen with custom cabinets, a new floor, built-in oven, and counter cooktop. Oh, and a dishwasher, which was the whole reason for the new kitchen in the first place. It all started when I asked for a dishwasher two years ago when the twins were born. It was such a chore constantly washing bottles and nipples times two by hand every day, and I couldn’t sanitize them nearly as well as with a dishwasher. Well, my dear husband couldn’t stand the idea of putting a tacky rolling diswasher in our already cramped kitchen, so he insisted on building me a whole new kitchen. The horror of living with newborn twins and a potty training two-year old in a house under construction was unpalatable, so I backed off and insisted that I didn’t want a dishwasher after all. Last fall, my in-laws offered us a new kitchen (FIL is a contractor) “for Christmas and a few birthdays” and after more than 365 days of hand washing bottles, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. It finally happened this spring, and the kitchen is gorgeous. You can see pictures of it on John’s facebook. If you need any work done on your house, I know a good contractor. 
We had a busy summer. I subbed a lot at the kids’ Mother’s Day Out, busing kids around on field trips. Anna Kathryn decided she could read (simple words, but yes, she can sound them out!) and even write a little, and is mastering her long written name on paper. She started in a preschool class this fall, and I am so proud of her. My little mophead is growing up. Snif.
We spent September in Minnesota with my parents and sisters there. I hadn’t been to MN in three years–not since before getting pregnant with the twins. John and AK went alone (I was hospitalized for dehydration in my first trimester) in late February/early March 2006. It was great to be home. I spent some lovely weeks of relaxation while my younger sisters fauned over my kids, changed diapers, fed, and played with them. William decided he was ready to talk, and during our entire visit, almost every word out of his mouth was a new one. Now that we’re home, he brings his toys to me or points at what he sees and asks, “Wha’ dat?” He’s a little sponge.
Stephen is speaking too. He says almost everything William does, but in more garbled baby talk, and almost as an afterthought most of the time. You don’t even realize he’s spoken until he’s quiet again and the words he just said suddenly make sense. He loves repetition, and counting, and will play with the same toy for hours, especially if it’s a puzzle of some sort.
In church this Sunday, Anna Kathryn recited her first bible verse from memory. Her aunt Ruth helped her learn it in Minnesota. It was a neat moment for her mommy.
I’ll try to update more later. Boys are up again.
