Is it possible?

Is it possible that we have kids this old? Scott and I ask each other this question once in awhile. Yes, I know they're all under the age of 5, but it still amazes me that we've kept them alive this long and they seem to be thriving. :)

Noah has been really interested in reading lately, and has come up to me with statements like, "C-A-T spells cat, right, Mom?" "C-H makes a chuh sound, right, Mom?" It's pretty amazing. I know that being 4 1/2, he's doing exactly what other 4 1/2 year olds are doing, but somehow when someone you've known from infancy starts doing more and more independently, it's a miracle.

We're so proud of him, and I delight to see his face light up when I tell him that. Don't know how we lived life without our little buddy.

Over the river and through the ice storm, to Great Grandparents' house we go...

So last weekend, we drove to Nebraska for Scott's grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary celebration. Now, Wisconsin to Nebraska is about a 12 hour drive. Long, right? Oh no, not for the Howards. We think anything less than the 16 hours it takes us to get to Texas is a breeze. We do worry about the kids' IQ's, though, as we can almost visibly see them drop as they watch DVD after DVD. But, they seem okay now, except for a few twitches here and there, which our doctor said would go away after a few years. :)

Anyway, we had a WONDERFUL time seeing Scott's grandparents, cousins and kids... it was a quick trip, but totally worth it. We left early early early on Sunday morning to get back, because we heard there was a storm that was supposed to go through Iowa and Illinois... basically, the exact route that we were going to take to get back home. We somehow thought that if we left early enough, the snow/ice that was supposed to fall for the whole day would hold off for us. (Minor problem, the weather doesn't revolve around the Howards....) We got about halfway and decided that after seeing a few dozen cars in the ditch later, we should probably stop. Some friends of Scott's from college live in Iowa and were gracious enough to take us in for the afternoon/night. We finally made it home, and we think there were at least 200+ cars in the ditch or median. We lost count. Very grateful that we stopped, and will probably take weather.com a little more seriously next time. :)

Three kids in a hotel bed!

Rachel didn't smile until she was OUT of the hotel pool. Unfortunately, her hands and arms are covering up her leg/thigh rolls. How long can you call a little girl chubby for? 4, 5 years? :)

Scott and the boys. We hadn't taken them swimming in a long time, so we weren't sure how the cautiousness would play out... Noah loved it, and paddled around happily with the water wings on his arms. Tyler wasn't so sure, and I heard, "Daddy hode me" about a dozen times from the water.

Rachel was very entertained by the mirror at the hotel.

Great Grandpa and Grandma Howard.

We all gathered in a clubhouse/party room for the celebration dinner. Lawrence Welk was on, which, if I had time, would get a blog all of it's own. :) Grandpa and Grandma Howard loved one of the songs, and decided to dance to it, much to the enjoyment of everyone else. I can't remember a time when I've seen more cameras and video cameras being whipped out and used. It was a sweet moment, and fun for us all to see them still dancing after 65 years!

A view from the middle row of the Sienna. This was the HIGHWAY - right before we decided that maybe we should stop and not drive anymore.

I could have taken hundreds of pictures like this. It was like a scene out of a movie. So thankful we weren't one of them!

What DO the Howards do all day when it's snowing and cold outside?

So, I bet most of you are wondering, just what DO you do with the kids for the 11 months out of the year when it's snowing and sub-zero weather? Glad you asked. Here at the Howard household, we have a MYRIAD of things to keep us busy. One of the boys' favorite games is simply "Jump off the stairs until someone gets hurt." Basically, they take turns (Tyler usually goes first) jumping off the highest number of stairs that they are allowed. For Tyler, it's two stairs; Noah, it's three. (I vetoed the idea of letting them jump off the number of stairs that corresponds to their age...) So, Tyler jumps off his two stairs, followed by Noah, who jumps very close (but thankfully not ON) Tyler. They wrestle around for a second, and then do it again. The fact that we haven't had a broken bone or even gotten close to needing stitches is a miracle. Here are some action shots ...

No, Tyler doesn't have pants on. Yes, he's wearing underwear. We decided to go cold turkey on the whole potty training with Tyler. He's been poopin' in the potty for a few months, but we told him that diapers were only for nighttime a few days ago, and he's done great. I'm looking forward to going to Target tomorrow and NOT walking out with big purple boxes that say Luvs on them.

Pictures...

So here are a few pictures from the last week or so. ...

You're never too young for a mohawk..... :)

The best part about all the snow is the huge pile the snow plow pushes in front of our house. We're on a cul-de-sac, and our house gets the biggest pile every winter. Bragging rights for Noah and Tyler in a few years, I'm sure. Scott and Noah dug this double tunnel with a skylight.

Noah could (and often does) stay outside for insane amounts of time. Hours. Seriously.

Hard to believe all three kids in this picture belong to us! I remember buying the crib when Noah was on the way, picking out the bedding (which all 3 have used), and painting the crib/changing table. Now there's two little boys peeking in at their sister in the mornings.... I love watching the three of them interact.

Three generations! Rachel is 7 months old. My middle name is Rachel, as is my mom's. I'm thankful to have a daughter for a lot of reasons, but one of the biggest is the hope of a friendship with her someday as I have with my mom.

Pukeville.....

We're through our second round of the stomach nastiness of the winter. Monday wasn't fun for anyone. Thankfully, Noah was the only one that barfed. Tyler's fever kept him on the couch all day, and I wondered if I should feel guilty about enjoying the quietness, even though it was sickness-induced...

Anyway, Noah was down for the count in his bed, having a nap, when all of a sudden, I heard, "Moooooom!" in that weird, unmistakeably, I just puked voice. So, up the stairs I go, to find everything, and I mean everything, covered in puke. Poor Noah was sitting amidst it all, crying, covered in it, and looking about as pathetic as I've ever seen him look. So off to the bathroom we go. As I was hosing him off with the shower, I said, "I'll get you some clothes in a second, buddy, okay?" He said, through a sob, "Do I have to wear the same ones, Mom?"

You know it's cold when...

...you wake up in the morning to a toilet that has ice in it.

Yes, you read right. Ice.

We had strong winds last night - 40-50 mph - which pushed the wind chill into the negative 30's. Crazy. So, since our bathroom window off our bedroom is a little drafty, even when it's locked, I decided to close the bathroom door to conserve a little heat. Well, I didn't realize that the vent in the bathroom had been closed - probably been that way for awhile - and this morning, when Scott went to take a shower, he was shocked at how cold it was. I didn't believe him, until not only did he tell me about the ice in the toilet, but couldn't get the shower doors open because they were iced shut. (A little muscle got those open in a second.)

So, for all of you who don't live here, aren't you glad you don't?

Teachable moment???

As parents, we try to find teachable moments in everything. Doesn't always happen the way we think it's going to, though... Scott and Tyler were at the kitchen table last night having a brownie. As they were looking out the doors to the sky, Tyler saw the stars. Scott asked, "Who made the stars, Tyler?" Without much hesitation, he looked at Scott with a smile and said, "Grampa."

Permission...

So Noah is learning to count backwards. 5-4-3-2-1 is as far as he's gotten. My mom was watching the kids the other day and decided to teach him about space shuttles, launches, etc. So, she said, "Here's how they do it in a space launch mission: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-IGNITION!" So, Noah tried, and said, "5-4-3-2-1-PERMISSION!"

Here goes nothing...

Well, here goes nothing, folks. It's Friday night. It's late (well, not even 11 p.m., but hey, we have three kids; late is relative), and everyone is down for the count. I, on the other hand, am wired. So, I decided to start a blog. Hopefully it will come close to the wit and evoke some of the laughter of others' blogs, but I'm not making any promises. Here's a few pictures from January, and then we'll be up and running. For those of you who know Scott and I well, you know that keeping up with the latest technology isn't one of our strong points. I'm still not sure what an iPod does. But, I think a blog will be fun, and looks to be pretty easy. Here goes nothing...

Nothing cuter than a bathtub full of naked kids.

Unless it's three clothed kids wondering why Mommy's standing above them for 15 minutes yelling, "SMILE, SMILE, SMILE! No, Tyler, not your silly smile, your regular smile! NOAH! KEEP LOOKING AT MOMMY!"

This is one of my favorite things to watch. Noah puts his head within drooling/biting distance of Rachel's mouth, and she goes to town on his face. He loves it, she thinks she's getting to chew on an amazing toy, and I love to see them bonding. Very sweet.

Rachel is close to being forwardly mobile. Right now she's in the rolling/backward army crawl camp. Serves her pretty well - she can get around a room - but there are disadvantages. Usually we can find her, but when she gets herself stuck under the dishwasher, we tell her to toughen up and find her own way out.