Perez Party of 8

Christmas Party at Mothers Day Out

2010-12-31T18:26:00.000-08:00

The quads had their Christmas party at Mothers Day out. They really enjoyed it, they did a book exchange and LOVED the books they got. They love to be read to and "read" to each other.

Miss Ella posing/hamming it up for the camera. I love this picture of Miss Priss.

Notice COoper & Casen with their hands on their hips like Ella. I am not sure Cole was completely awake yet! HA!

Ella wouldn't sit with her brothers while they ate. She was so sleepy at the party because they cut naptime short due to the party.

Mr. Casen being a ham!

Ella and Mrs. Courtney, one of her teachers.

Ella opening her Mickey Mouse book.

Cole smiling after opening up his book.

Mommy with the crew, Ella did come over to the boys table to pose for a quick picture.

All the kiddos opening up their new books.

Cooper with his new book. They absolutely LOVE to go to school and are very sad on days they don't have school. I am so grateful they all love school and love their teachers. They have learned so much this year from school as well.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

Trick or Treat down memory lane

2010-10-31T18:16:00.000-07:00

This was our first Halloween as Perez Party of 8~2008

This is the kids last year 2009

And here they are this year 2010~ They LOVE Toy Story so we have Cooper as Buzz, Cole as Woody, Ella as Jessie, Kennedy as Jessie & Casen as the Slinky Dog. Haiden really wasn't to into dressing up this year, so I never could manage to get a picture with him in it.

They absolutely loved trick or treating this year and TOTALLY rocked saying "trick or treat" when they would go up to someone's door!

P is for PUMPKIN or POSE!

2010-10-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

The quads had pumpkin day at school yesterday! I quickly snapped some cute pictures of them POSING with their pumpkins! They were SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to take them to school.

Dewberry Farms/Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, my favorite time of the year EVER~ FALL! So, with that being said, I had really wanted to go to Dewberry Farms last year, but the WEATHER was so not on our side. So I decided that this year WE WERE GOING NO MATTER WHAT~ and that is just what we did. The eight of us, Nonnie, Auntie Heather, Cousin Gavin, AUntie Ashley & Aunt Debbie piled into 2 cars and off we went for the hour drive~ It was really worth the wait & ride. Although we weren't able to get to do EVERYTHING in the 5hrs we were there, we did indeed have a great time. Oh and since I mentioned the 5hr stay at the farm, let me also throw in that the babies had NOT had a nap that day and were AWESOME~ We got to ride a hayride out the pumpkin patch to pick out our own pumpkins and the kids really loved that.

This is the big kids & Casen on the hayride with their prize pumpkins!

I took this sweet picture of Miss Kennedy & Miss Ella~I have to say this picture just melts my heart EVERYTIME I look at it~I hope they always stay close, because I know how much my sisters mean to me & what a great relationship we have.

Here is Kennedy with her PERRRRR FECT pumpkin. HA~

Haiden launching corn at the metal targets~

And then we have daddy here, who was such a GREAT SPORT, why you might ask? Well, you see he gave up watching his DALLAS COWBOYS to be with the family at the farm. However, in this picture you will notice his "earplugs", those "earplugs" just so happened to give him play by play of the game~HA!

Mommy & Cooper watching the big kids on the ziplines

Cole aka: CoCo with his Auntie Heather being such a ham!

Haiden on the zipline

Kennedy getting a "push" from Gavin on the zipline
PIT STOP!!!!!!!!!!

Haiden, Kennedy & Gavin mining for GOLD

Cooper with the pig, I swear this child IS NOT afraid of ANYTHING~can I also just add that ever since seeing the pig at the farm, his now favorite noise to make is......a snorting pig!

I love this picture of Ella checking out the chickens

Kennedy giving the goats a lesson on no biting! HA!

One last pit stop for snowcones, kettle corn and funnel cake sticks! YUMMY~

Then last but not least we tried to get a family picture at the farm, however, note to self: NEVER EVER save family pictures for the last event of a FIVE HOUR day on the FARM~ Cooper was trying so hard to get away from his daddy HA!

We did indeed have a great time together "on the farm"! Oh, and I would also like to mention we did not take a stroller, wagon or anything for the babies. It does make me a little sad that they are growing up sooooo fast!!!!!!

Duct...... Duct.......Duct........TAPE

2010-10-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

Yep, you read it right! We have to DUCT TAPE the diapers on to the quads! WHY, you might ask? Well, because as much as I would have no problem with of any of my kids growing up to be artists, I DO HAVE A HUGE problem with them being POO-CASSO! YEP, they play in their poop~seriously how gross is that? Well, let me just tell you it is as gross as you imgained it being TIMES FOUR~ So since we had tried everything, we had to resort to duct taping their diapers. EXCEPT for Casen, we had to duct tape the top of his pants. You know there is always one in the group that has to be the CREATIVE one. However, after about 4 months of duct taping their diapers, I am pleased to announce we no longer have to use it on the diapers. It has been placed back in daddy's work bench.

First day of school for ALL SIX kiddos

2010-09-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that the kids are already back in school. My, where did our summer go? Haiden started 6th grade this year, he was a little apprehensive because he would have 4 teachers and not be on a team anymore. They are trying to get them ready for Junior High, did I REALLY just type JUNIOR HIGH????? He is however adjusting just fine to the new schedule & homework. He did AWESOME last year on his state mandated tests and even got Commended on Reading (he only missed one question) so he got a medal. This is a HUGE accomplishment for him seeing that he is Dyslexic in Reading. He was so proud of himself, as were we. He will be playing baseball, showing his heifer & pig at the county fair again this year. He is also wanting to run for student council!

Kennedy started second grade this year! She has Mrs. Gomez and LOVES her. She was also Haiden's 3rd grade teacher. She LOVES LOVES LOVES school, or is the dressing up and matching accessories that she likes?HA! She is such an AWESOME reader and loves to read too! I hope she continues to have this passion for reading. She will be taking dance again this year. However, she is patiently (NOT) waiting for next year, because she too will finally be able to show at the county fair.
The quads also started school this year, or should I say Mother's Day Out. It is Tuesdays & Thursdays. This was their first week, and there were NO tears shed by ANYONE, not even me! Their teacher said they were really good & great helpers at picking up toys. She also said they LOVE to wash their hands in the classroom sink! HA! As a matter of fact when Jeremy and I went to pick them up, there they were washing their hands. Hmmm....maybe they remember their early days of being preemies and everyone always washing their hands! Just kidding, well about them remembering being preemies. They also all kept talking about the "big potty". We haven't started potty training yet, but the school offers to help out when you do start potty training, so I am thinking around Thanksgiving we will give it a whirl! They were so funny when they came home from school, they were smiling and singing and LOVING on EVERYONE! It was soooo sweet to watch, it just reminds us that this was a good decision putting them in school. Ella kept going around saying, "I liiiiiiiiiike school". Lets just hope they continue to love it as much as they do right now.

Hollywood 7th Birthday Diva

2010-08-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

Kennedy decided this year she didn't really want a BIG party, but something FUN~ She also had been waiting for Romona and Beezus movie to come out. It just so happened that it was coming out the same weekend as her birthday, then the creativity got started from there. She chose a couple of friends to invite. I then made each of them shirts & flip flops, and bought boas & sunglasses for assemble. I have to admit it really turned out super cute. Their shirts had an admit one ticket in zebra print that I then stitched and outline in hot pink, and you can see from Kennedy's outfit how the rest of the items went along with their attire.

These are the popcorn buckets I picked up from the dollar spot and we filled it with their shirts, flip flops, sunglasses & invitation for the party. I took her to each house and this is what she gave each of the girls.

Here are all the diva Hollywood movie goers! How stinking cute is this?

After the movies it was off to dinner, the girls all picked Hooters.HA!
These ladies would be the chaperones that went with me & had a great time as well.

Me & my birthday girl!

Then we headed back to the house for the rest of the family and friends to come over and finish celebrating Miss Kennedy's 7th birthday. I made these cupcakes, that are supposed to look like popcorn & we served ice cream too.

She had a really great time & a great birthday. We are so blessed to have this bigger than life super diva as our daughter. We love you Kennedy, Happy 7th birthday!

TRYING something NEW

2010-07-17T12:48:00.001-07:00

Since we have turned 2, we have had some SERIOUS temper tantrums to say the least! I decided I could let this or them get the best of me or I could try out some new things for them to do. Today was one of those TEMPER TANTRUM days, I took old wrapping paper flipped it over & taped it down to the kitchen table. Took a deep breath and pulled out the PLAYDOH!!!!! I know Haiden & Kennedy have always loved playdoh and as a former kindergarten teacher, I know it is great for developing those fine motor skills as well. My only worry with the quads was if they were too young still and were going to eat it instead of play with it. Much to my surprise they LOVED it, and so did Haiden, Kennedy & MOMMA! Cole did try to eat it, but one taste of it and the look on his face, he quickly realized playing with it was a MUCH BETTER IDEA~HA! They had a great time, they still aren't quite sure how to really "play" with it, but they did give it their best shot! Unfortunatly, the pictures aren't that great of quality because they were taken with my camera phone.

They loved this monkey, it did all kinds of neat stuff with PLAYDOH!

4th of July

2010-07-07T23:24:00.001-07:00

Our Dad is the BOMBDIGGITY!!!!

2010-06-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the world! I posted some of my favorite pictures of Jeremy with the kids.

Jeremy, you are the most amazing, wonderful, loving, hard-working compassionate husband and daddy EVER! Your kids are the luckiest kids in the world to have you as their daddy. You are such a hard worker and would do anything for your family and we love you sooooo much! OUr boys have such a wonderful role model! I hope you have a fabulous Father's Day!

We love you daddy! Haiden, Kennedy, Ella, COle, Cooper & Casen!

winner is.....................

2010-06-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

CONGRATulations to:

Random.org picked #3 for the winner of the bow!

Stephanie F said...
I have boy/girl twins that would LOVE the shirt and bow. Both are adorable....the shirt and bow, I mean :)
May 30, 2010 5:14 PM

stephanie please email me at perezbrandy1@hotmail.com let me know which clip you would like on the bow and your address to mail it to.

Random.org picked #13 for the winner of the tie t-shirt!

Shannon said...
I followed via GFC! :)
June 14, 2010 1:21 PM

shannon please email me at perezbrandy1@hotmail.com and let me know the shirt size you need for your lil man's 4th of July tie shirt and an address to mail it to.

thank you to everyone that participated. I will be doing another giveaway soon!

GIVEAWAY for your diva & dude

2010-05-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

I am giving away the bow I call STARS & STRIPES. It is a boutique style bow that can be put on a french clip or aligator clip. YOU PICK! I sell these bows and any bow for any occasion. So if your looking for something for a lil diva email me at perezbrandy1@hotmail.com

I am also giving away this super cute 4th of July tie shirt! The winner will be able to select shirt size~ I also make these and can do custom orders so if your interested in one email me~

To win, this is what you need to do.

1) by leaving a comment & telling me who the bow and/or shirt would be PERFECT for!

2) Show me some love on FB & tell everyone about the contest

3) become a fan on FB. Southern Chic Boutique FB

4) get someone to follow the blog & become a follower (if your not one already)

5) blog about the contest on your blog

Make sure to post a separate comment for each one AND leave a link!

So that gives you 6 chances to WIN.

Winner will be announced:

JUNE 18th

using random.org

a walk that was SO MUCH MORE

2010-05-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

than just a "walk"....

Not only did we walk, we celebrated, we cried, we remembered and we honored!!!!!!!

This was our first year to participate in the March of Dimes walk. We raised a WHOPPING $1600!!!!! Many of our family members and friends walk to honor our 2lb miracle QUADS!!!!!!!! This will continue to be an annual event for our family!!!!!!

This is what our shirts looked like that we all wore. A big thank you goes out to our good friend Matt for designing them & the Taylors for making them for us.

Here they are sporting their shirts that they received from the walk!!!!!!

Hoppy Easter

2010-05-06T10:08:00.001-07:00

just a little late...............

Easter this year was WAY different......

we went to church

they ran and "actually" hunted for the eggs (except for Cooper) & had a blast with the confetti eggs............

Loved having Easter buckets with "goodies" in them...........

It was a great weekend. It was very busy with their party on Saturday and Easter on Sunday, but they did great with it all. We had all the family over to our house, Easter is a big deal in our family. And of course the confetti eggs are a big war with the "big kids" and the little ones too!

Happy 2nd Birthday

2010-04-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

I decided this year to go with the Dr. Suess Cat in the Hat theme~ I have to admit, I thought it turned out really cute! I also did something different this year, I hired someone to come over take all the picture at the birthday party, that way I could ACTUALLY enjoy it. I will tell you it was WELL WORTH THE MONEY! I wasn't worried the whole time if I was getting in on camera or if I was missing something. Because lets be honest with four of them at once you will miss something! I had the big cake made from a local girl here who does cakes, and I made the 4 small ones for each of the babies, I don't think they turned out to bad! Gavin and Cole aka: CoCo. If you notice they changed outfits at the party for two reasons. One I didn't want cake all over the new yellow shirts and TWO, I used the yellow shirts with the plaid shorts for their Easter outfit the next day! I just ordered the thing 1,2,3 & 4 iron ons from Ebay.

Cooper and Daddy, can you tell Easter was the next day? Cooper LOVES this car.

This was one of their birthday presents, they loved this picnic table! I love it too. I folds up for easy storage and the umbrella is a great added bonus! They also got the water/sand table with an umbrella for their birthday! That was so funny watching them splash each other with the water, we haven't tried sand in it yet. Some of the yummy fruits we served! This is one of my favorite punches~it is cherry limeaide, just like Sonic. It is always such a hit with the kids and adults. The kids were too funny eating their cake this year. Since they now use forks they weren't really sure "how" to eat it. I love this one of Ella. I eventually had to give them forks. Cooper took his cake and dumped it on the floor before we even started singing happy birthday~

Casen's facial expression on this page is priceless, look is at those cute little hands fixing to dive in. He ended up just using one finger and smearing the icing on his and Ella's face. It looked like the had make up on!

Ella and Casen were the only two interested in opening presents. You see here they got a potty from their Nonnie & Popo, well let me just say, we are not anywhere near potty training yet~ Casen with his Auntie Ashley!

I love this picture of Kennedy in the jump house! Haiden was no where in sight for pictures!

Ella was stealing everyones candy boxes~ She is such a hoarder!
They had such a great party with lots of family, friends & food. A fellow quad mom, Betsy and her crew came to celebrate our big day with us as well. I still can't believe that they are two already, I am to scard to blink, because the next thing I know they will be in Kindergarten. We are so blessed to have these 2lb miracles in our lives and I thank God for them everyday!

Here are their 2yr old check up stats:

ella: 24lbs 321/2 in tall

cole: 25lbs 34 1/4 in tall

cooper: 29lbs 341/2 in tall

casen: 26lbs and 33in tall

They are doing so many new things, still have great sleepy habits. They go to bed around 7pm and get up at 7-8am! They only take one nap a day from 12-3 so I am not complaining. They are starting to be really picky eaters. I am hoping this is just a phase. Coopers temper tantrums are awful right now! He throws himself down and then backwards, although he had bumped his head enough now that he eases backwards. He tries to pull his hair out too when he gets mad. UGH! I know this too shall pass. Ella has become VERY bossy~and her favorite word is NO! Casen and Cole are still my worse bitters! I will say, it has gotten now where they are biting few & far between. Cole is still the most verbal, and Casen is still a HAM! They have also become skilled CLIMBERS, which scares the dickens out of me! However, life is good and I wouldn't change a thing. Happy 2nd Birthday to our sweet babies (toddlers)~

Professional Pictures 2nd Birthday

2010-04-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to Kayla, she always does such a great job with the kiddos~

Is that what I think it is????

2010-04-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

WHAT do you get when you put Brandy & Betsy in one room TOGETHER????? ONE VERY RARE SIGHT, THAT IS FOR SURE!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 sets of quads, 2 sets of older siblings & 2 FABULOUS quads + two mama friends!!!!!!!!!! Yes, ladies & gentlemen between the two of us we have 12 children all together & 2 smokin hot hubbies!

We met up a few months ago through a quad mom group, what was even better was we lived only 30 mintues from each other! We talk all the time. We went to the Gilbride Gang's 1st birthday party a few weeks ago, and then they came to the Perez quads 2nd birthday party this Saturday. We had such a great time together. We look forward to watching the kiddos form friendships & bonds just as we have!
PS: I will be posting birthday & Easter pics soon, once I sort through all 600 of them!ha!

SHARK, BARRACUDA or SWEET ELLA???????

2010-03-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

Cole walked up to me and says, "Mom, Ella BITE!!!!!" Even though the picture is blurry, you can certainly see where she did indeed BITE him. Of course I go to talk to Ella and explain to her that we don't bite.

Only problem.........Ella had ran to "HIDE"!

I say to her "Ella, please take off the blanket you need to tell Cole your sorry for biting" She slowly takes off the blanket to "peek out"!I then ask her again, "Ella did you bite Cole?" Her response was this big expression!I tell her AGAIN, "Ella we DON'T BITE, please tell Cole your sorry for biting!"

This was her response to that statement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bless their hearts, this was just so stinking sweet of her giving him "LOVES" & SAYING SORRY! Of course I know that biting is par for the course with almost two year olds, but I just hate them to bite one another. Their cries from a sibling bite are just so sad (as are all their cries). The good news is, we haven't had very much biting going on anymore! I know, I know I just JINXED myself, but it is true for now anyway! The melt my heart when the "give love" to one another! The funny part thing about the whole biting is~~~COLE IS THE WORST ABOUT BITING! Hmmmm......I am thinking he didn't like a dose of his own medicine! On a side note, now every time something happens to Casen he always says "owwww bite" and of course 9 times out of 10 he is not been bit!

Oh No She DIDn't

2010-03-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

OH YES SHE DID!!!!! She meaning ME!!! I took all 6 kids to the Houston RODEO!!!! My nephew Gavin was showing his steer at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo~ And of course WE could not and WOULD NOT miss his 1st time showing at a major show!So I made the decision to take all six kids to the rodeo with me. Daddy was working, so I put on my BIG GIRL PANTIES and took the plunge! What I do need to mention here is that when you show at these major shows, you never really know what time you will ACUALLY SHOW, so witht that being said I took a big risk and left for the rodeo WITHOUT the quads taking a NAP~ It is about a 45min drive for us to get to the rodeo. I got there parked ummmm yes in the NORTH FORTY, lucky me.HA! Got everyone out and loaded into the stroller and we were off!!!! See this really SWEET picture of 4 pair of cowboy boots which equals 8 BOOTS!!!! Well I must have put these boots on 100 MILLION times that day!!!!!

After we got to the steer aisle where Gavin was we found out he would be showing later than expected. Now I will tell you once we got to the show, NONNIE, AUNTIE HEATHER, UNCLE BRIAN & POPO were all there to help out with the quads! With time to kill, we decided to take all the kids to Ag ADVENTURE, where they could see all the animals, and it was kid friendly. We left the stroller behind and let them walk around this area. It wasn't TOO bad, we did have a couple of MELTDOWNS!!!! But really how many 2 year olds do you know that don't MELTDOWN! (with no nap to add)

They were so cute checking out the baby chicks.

Casen loved the PONIES, he wanted to watch them go AROUND & AROUND & AROUND! Get my point?HA!

Cooper loved the ROOSTERS!
Cole of course wasn't too sure about ANY of IT! Bless his heart!

Ella loved the bunnies!

Kennedy got to make a sandart, she loves anything CRAFTY! (wonder who she gets that from)Here is where the day starts to get a LITTLE HAIRY!! It is 2pm, and Gavin is no where near CLOSE TO SHOWING YET!!!!! I took the babies on a walk for about ummmmmm THREE MORE HOURS, yes folks you read that right, I walked them around and around and around that livestock area until Gavin showed at 5PM!!!!! Don't forget we had been there since 11:30am with NO NAPS! Now I know you can just imagine what they were like at this point. TIRED & READY TO GO HOME! Then the temper tantrums started and the BOOTS when a FLYIN!!! We watched him show then headed out for the HIKE back to our car. EVERYONE was so TIRED, but we just kept walking and chugging along, and I ALSO must mention it was 87' degrees outside. WE were hot & ready to be home. We got back to the car, I loaded everyone up, gave them their juice cups & snacks, loaded the stroller and got in the car to drive! Only problem......my legs felt like NOODLES!! After pushing that stroller around for 5hrs & the hike back to the car, I was ONE TIRED MAMA!!! But we had to go home, so I dug down in my mama ENERGY and drove us back home (with CASEN screaming the WHOLE 45MINUTES home,which who could blame him). We pulled in the driveway where Daddy met us at the car and told me he had dinner ready & a hot bath waiting on me! Did I mention how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE my hubby! All in all, it was a GREAT day! SO many things ACCOMPLISHED that day, my nephew 1st major show (which he didn't place, but had fun showing), babies 1st trip to the rodeo & ME TAKING ALL SIX BY MYSELF!! They & I had a lot of FUN & we all SURVIVED & WERE STILL SMILING!!!!

WORLESS Wednesday

2010-03-24T21:08:00.001-07:00

There will be a post soon about this sweet picture!!!

Another School Dance

2010-03-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

Get a look at the handsome young man! Haiden had his second school dance this year. This dance was the 5th & 6th grade Valentine Dance. (yes I am a month behind on this post)

Notice he is wearing TENNIS SHOES!!!!! I about had a fit that he was wearing tennis shoes, but apparently I don't have a clue on "cool dress code" so I decided this was NOT a battle I was going to fight. Besides it wasn't my dance, it was his dance. He had a really good time. He went solo again to the dance, well maybe not solo since he, Gavin and Perry all went together. My point is he didn't "ask" a girl to the dance. I am not complaing either!HA! There will be plenty time for "asking girls to the school dances"! He had a really good time, I still can't believe he is old enough to be going to school dances!

Haiden & his cousin Gavin.

Them being "cheesy"

Haiden, Gavin and Perry!

Oh Cool Whip, HOW COULD YOU?

2010-03-09T11:03:00.001-08:00

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that

a can of good ole cool whip, yes cool whip, could cause this kind of REACTION!!!!!!

Ella just couldn't take anymore, so she covered her eyes. Cole just screamed and cried, as did Casen. If you look close, you will see the cup Cole threw down, that is floating in mid air in this picture. Then you have Mr. Cooper, he is just checking out his brother and that "stuff" on his face and smiling about it.

Maybe I shouldn't just blame the cool whip! Haiden obviously had a part in this and so did Nana. Let me explain the real story behind this "cool whip chaos". Haiden was in the refrigerator putting cool whip on grapes. His Nana asked him if she could "show him a trick". She took the cool whip and had him open his mouth, and of course you know what happened next. She filled his mouth so full of cool whip that he was spitting it out. In the process of "spitting it out", he wiped his mouth, not realizing he wasn't exactly "cleaning" his face, more like spreading it on his face. Intentional? Maybe! He turned around to show the babies, because at this point they were laughing at him too, that was UNTIL he turned around and they got a look at him! That my friends is where the CHAOS began. We could not believe they reacted like they did, it was funny I mean, sad to see there reaction. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this would of happened! However after everything calmed down, we had that "ah ha" moment, you know the one when we realized what this years trick or treating would probably be like!

they say "ketchup", I say "BIG MESS"

2010-03-07T21:38:00.001-08:00

I got a brillant idea to let the kids try ketchup.HA! I was really curious to see what the reaction would be~would they like, hate it or just wanna play in it? Well~~~~~~~~liked it & played in it was the correct answer. Except for Ella, she wasn't very interested in it at all, not even playing in it. She of course came out looking the same way she did before she sat down to eat, clean as a whitsle. She is being such a little Miss Priss in this picture, that is her new thing now, closing her eyes for pictures! Cooper decided painting his face and hair was the best choice! He looked so cute with it everywhere.

We laughed at them forever, watching the reaction from each one of them tasting it & playing in it. Cole wanted to wipe it on me while I was taking his picture!

Casen, I think will be the painter in the group. He just kept smearing it all over his tray!

Like father, Like son

2010-03-07T16:20:00.000-08:00

I love love love these pictures of two of the boys helping Daddy rake the yard. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

NEW ADVENTURE & THEY LOVED IT

2010-03-02T06:49:00.000-08:00

After all the funky weather this past week, I mean really, one minute rain, next minute snow & then sunshine??????? Who really gets that kind of crazy weather in just ONE week..............TEXAS of course! With that being said, the sun was out and SHINING BRIGHT on Saturday, so I decided to try something new with the kids. I loaded them up in the stroller and off Kennedy and I walked to the PARK!Yes, the park, as that may not be a big deal to most, it is a big deal to me for several reasons. One, are they "big" enough for the playground equipment? Two, is the park going to be crowded? Three, I was going to be OUTNUMBERED in an HUGE OPEN space!!!!! So yes, it was a big deal! However I am pleased to say that they absolutely loved it, so much in fact that we ended up staying there for and hour! I just sat in AWE that these 2lb miracles that are turning 2 in just one MONTH were crawling, climbing, sliding and rocking on the playground equipment.

The best part of all of this was the MOST HEART MELTING SMILE that was on each of their faces, including Kennedy.

She loved playing with the babies and sliding down the slides with the "willing participants"!HA!

Cooper and Casen LOVED sliding down the slide even BY themselves. I couldn't believe it, and they also enjoyed climbing up the slide.

Ella enjoyed climbing on things but wasn't really having any part of the whole "sliding" just yet. She is still on the cautious side of things.

Then there is Cole who now has been nick named "Albert" for Albert Einstein. He is so inquisitive and always just sits back to "get a better look" at the SITUATION! He is still the most verbal & clear to understand. Mr. Casen, well this little stinker/dare devil that he is had NO FEARS at all! He was up and down everything. Even funnier moment was Casen trying to get Cole & Ella to have a mulch fight with him. Didn't happen, not with the two of them, however he did manage to load his clothes, shoes & diaper up with mulch.

Cooper too loved everything about the park. He really loved climbing UP the slide even with his stitches in his pinky finger. Before we headed home, we took Kennedy over to the "big kid" swings and let her swing for a while.

Bottom line is~~~~~we had a GREAT time and will be visiting parks more often! I would be lying to you though if I said, I would take them all by myself to a park that was crowded! Nana ended up going on our excursion for the day. We really enjoyed her company as did she enjoy seeing the smiles on the kids faces! It is another one of those "simple moments" in life that makes my heart smile.

Your house or MINE?????

2010-02-19T09:35:00.000-08:00

The kids got this house for Christmas from Nana & Papa T. We kept it inside so they would get more use out of it. They have had so much fun playing in it, the only problem is who's house is it?

Because according to Casen, he seems to think it is HIS HOUSE~ Little does he know it belongs to 3 others. I guess someone should tell him! Oh wait that is what Cole is trying to do in the above picture! Do you think he is listening? HA!

I don't think so because he is still in CHARGE of the door. Poor Kennedy looks like she is staying clear of MR. Casen!

Well looks like he did get the message, it just took a quick phone call to mom and dad from Miss Ella, and out of the way he got! Leave it to his sister to show him "who's house it IS"

*honestly though, they really do love this house even if they haven't figured out who the real owner of this property is!

Valentines Day @ Mardi Gras Kid Parade

2010-02-14T18:18:00.000-08:00

I love Valentines Day! This year I found the boys the cutest shirts. They said, "Cupid is my homeboy!" I made Kennedy & Ella one. We spent the day together at the Mardi Gras Kid Parade in Galveston. I was a little worried about how the kids would respond to all the people and loud sirens, but as usual they had a BLAST! Of course we had the normal comments about the stroller, even had some say that we were a parade of our own. However aside from the few comments we really had a great time. Haiden & Kennedy really enjoyed catching all the beads and seeing all the floats.

I took a picture of this clown riding this bike, because I think I found the perfect way to take all 4 babies on a bicycle ride! HA! Just stick em in the wheelbarrow & off we would go!

The babies were not to sure about necklaces being thrown at them, but certainly didn't hesitate to put each one around their neck. They wore the necklaces for the rest of the day.

After the parade we decided to walk down to the beach. I have to admit I was so excited to see the reaction the kids would have playing in the sand. It was totally worth my excitement. THEY LOVED THE BEACH, even Cole. He was a little skeptical at first like he always is about everything, but quickly began enjoying fun in the sun & sand.

Cooper automatically started dancing in the sand.

Miss Ella, well she did what she does best...........collect as many things as her little hands will hold. This time it was ROCKS~ Casen ran around chasing Haiden with that red ball in hand! If you look at the necklace he is wearing, well that little necklace caused quite a meltdown at bath time when he had to take it off.

I just love this picture of Haiden & Kennedy on the beach with all of the necklaces they caught. We will certainly be making the Mardi Gras Kid Parade an annual family trip!

Simple Pleasures......

2010-02-05T10:26:00.000-08:00

Today for some reason out of the blue I was sitting on the couch, and got to thinking about "my life" and started smiling. I smiled because I realized that the things that me me the most happy are "simple"! Life really is about the "simple pleasures" so I decided to blog about "my life" simple pleasures! I of course could write a book about all of them, so I am going to just list some of them.................................

*dates with the BEST husband a woman could ever ask for & being loved unconditionally by him**looking into these BIG BROWN eyes*

*hearing her giggle & seeing her smile*

*hearing his sweet voice say "tank choo" for thank you*

*her precious pig tails**great times with GREAT friends*

* little feet & untied shoe laces*

*this smile that makes his nose wrinkle up and two little dimples**having THREE sibilings and knowing they have something GREAT to offer this WORLD*

*marrying into a family that LOVES to be together*

*hearing my papaw's voice on the other end of the phone saying "I love you"

*how he LIGHTS UP when his nana walks through the door & his contagious SMILE & teddy bear HUGS*

*Oh how I LOVE YOU~

*and of COURSE these TOO*

Again there are sooooooooooooo many more to list, but I just wanted to list a few!

Love em!

2010-02-04T11:13:00.000-08:00

I have been really trying to figure out what would be the best plates & silverware to start using with the quads. Yes, I did put a lot of thought into this because 1. i was going to be spending the money X4 on them. 2. I wanted them to be worth the money I was spending. and 3. I REALLY wanted what I felt was going to "work" for my kids & their developing needs. So for those main reasons and others, I chose these from Gerber.

I love the fact that you get it all in one package. It comes with a plate (that can be suctioned down), a rim to snap on top of the plate to better help them "scoop" up the food without it falling off the plate, and last, a BIG grip fork & spoon.

* No Gerber did not ask me to do a product review for them, I found them on my own.

The kids love them, and I didn't even have to use the suction part of the plate. The spoon & fork were PERFECT! In my opinion anyway. I really thought they would have trouble using them, but BOY was I wrong. They took to them like they had been using them forever! I like that the handle is short & chunky, and the fork is rounded on the edges, instead of being pointy. So if your kiddos are at that stage where they are getting ready for utensils or even a great baby shower gift, check these out!

Will post pics of them using them soon!

roasting marshmallows & a front row view

2010-01-30T13:01:00.000-08:00

Haiden & Kennedy had been helping Jeremy bring in firewood and put it away so we would have it to build a warm cozy fire in the fireplace. After all the hard work they asked their daddy if he would build a fire in the outside fire pit so they could roast marshmallows! They had so much fun doing this.

It was REALLY cold & starting to DRIZZLE that day so the babies & I stayed indoors to watch, but they had a great FRONT ROW view.
I can't wait until we are all able to be outside roasting marshmallows, but until this RSV season lock down is over, inside is where we stay. This is the last year for us to have to stay in COMPLETE lock down during RSV season. THANK GOODNESS!

Sidewalk Chalk to eat or not to eat.....

2010-01-29T11:43:00.000-08:00

that seemed to be the question??????

We took advantage of a great day to get outside and play before more nasty weather hit us. While we were out there I saw a bucket of sidewalk chalk and thought this would be great to let the kidddos play with! I guess what I should of said to myself was this ought to be a great new thing for them to taste.HA! They totally cracked me up with putting it in their mouths and even though after the first taste they made an ugly face, they still kept putting it in their mouths.

I will say they did figure out how to write with it or mark with it on the driveway & the trailer.

These are a couple of my favorite moments from that day too. I wasn't sure where most of the chalk went, their mouth, the driveway or their CLOTHES! HA!

Big towels w/character

2010-01-23T16:07:00.000-08:00

The babies got these super cute towels from Aunt Debbie & Claudinefor Christmas. They are so stinking cute. We have offically grown out of the "baby towels", so these were a perfect gift for the babies. They LOVED walking around with them on their heads. They got the frog, puppy & butterfly ones. They are super soft too!

Merry Christmas

2010-01-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

With everyone sick this week I was really bummed thinking the babies & Kennedy weren't going to be up to Santa Claus coming to town. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this holiday because I can't wait to see the excitement in their sweet faces during this MAGICAL time of year. I get so giddy the night before Christmas, I can hardly ever sleep because I can't wait til the morning when the come down the stairs to see what Santa has brought them and to make sure he ate his cookies and left them a note.

So on Christmas morning Kennedy & Haiden came and jumped on our bed and yelled, "get up he came, he came" ok I must have fallen asleep becasue when they did that I jumped clear out of my skin. LOL We all headed down the stairs and got the babies out of their cribs, and of course waited on Daddy to get the camera ready!

They were all so excited to see the toys he left for each of them. It was really neat watching the babies this year because they really got into the whole opening presents & getting excited about Santa. Cooper & Cole kept saying HO HO HO! The babies each got a chair of their OWN! They loved them. Haiden's big gifts were a popcorn machine & a guitar. He wanted to learn to play and take lessons. I am really excited about this too actually. Kennedy's big gifts were a nintendo ds and an art easel. That child LOVES to draw, color & write! It is so neat to find her artwork and letters all over the house! We had our family tradition of breakfast and the family comes over in their pjs, and then everyone goes home to get ready for the big lunch!

I love having everyone over and our house full of family!

Twas the night before Chirstmas

2010-01-19T16:15:00.000-08:00

Last year Nana bought the babies the cutest matching Christmas pajamas, so this year we have decided we want to make that a tradition. So Mamaw found this years pajamas for the babies. Here they are on Christmas Eve getting ready to head to bed, where sugar plums will dance in their heads in hopes that St. Nick will soon be here!

dancing Queen & a class party

2010-01-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

Kennedy had her annual dance Christmas party at the studio where she takes dance! This year she is learning so much more and getting to use the bars in ballet. She LOVES LOVES LOVES to dance~The class does a quick show of what they do on a normal dance day & then perform a small Christmas routine. This year they performed a ballet dance to Sugar Plum Fairy.

Miss thang did an AWESOME job! She was so cute, she kept looking over at us all to make sure we were watching!

After the dance they have a little Christmas party with yummy treats and visit with there dance friends.

This week she also had her 1st grade class Christmas party. Wow! I am tired just typing it! Her teacher asked me if I would mind making cupcakes for the class, since the kids loved the turkey cookies so much. I was totally excited about making them. Of course you knew that already~After school that day, Kennedy and I went to the store to get all the goodies we were going to need to make reindeer cupcakes. (because of course they couldn't just be plain cupcakes)! She and I had great one on one time making them for her class.

She is really loving first grade. She is doing FANTASTIC in reading, as a matter of fact, she is already on a second grade reading level and close to being on a third grade. Math on the other hand is not her favorite, but once she "gets" it, she takes off with it. She is wanting all A's on her report card each time. Which is so funny, because her MAIN reason for wanting this is to make sure she does as good or better than Haiden. Jeremy and I have never said they had to make all A's. We just tell them to do the best you can. So the COMPETITIVE side of her with school is something new. Don't get me wrong, I am glad she wants to do so well, but sometimes she will get upset if it is not an A. I don't want her to put that kind of stress or worry on herself. So we shall see! Kennedy loves Mrs. R & so do we!

I have to admit something about these cupcakes, I thought I was going to go CRAZY trying to break the pretzels just right to make the antlers, but Kennedy loved them and that was all that mattered to me! I think I have another cooking partner, because Haiden too loves to cook!

*notice the reindeer house shoes~she wanted to make those made it into the picture as well*

Gingerbread House Family Project

2010-01-03T10:35:00.001-08:00

Ella is in position and ready to get this gingerbread house party started!

Cole says "Can you hold please, we are not ready for you to see what we are up to!" Kennedy is all over the CANDY~
Haiden had gone shopping with Nana one day, while they were out, she let him pick out a gingerbread house for us to put together. I thought what better way to put a gingerbread house together, then has a whole family. Yes, that also meant letting the babies "help".

Casen was ready to get his hands on it~

This sucker was so hard to get it to stick & stay together. After many attempts we voted as a family to TRASH it, yes after all that hard work it went into the trash, oh well we did have a ton of fun! This was the finished project, if you look closely, you will see me holding it together for the picture.HA~

Christmas Lights Sort of`

2010-01-03T10:14:00.000-08:00

One day while the big kids were at school, we decided to hang the Christmas lights. Jeremy and I got them done while the babies were napping. The only thing we had left was to put out some of the yard stuff , so we finished that up with the help of the babies! It was to funny watching them. I tried my best to get pics of it, but they were running everywhere with such excitement. I love this picture of the boys "helping" daddy.

So the pictures are not of them actually involved with the yard decorating, just more of them running around playing. If you notice Cooper was not in the mood to stay still for pictures, therefore there is not one of just him. In the group shot of us all, you get to see the back of his head! HA!

It was so different this Christmas since they were 20 1/2 mos old, they were so fun to watch and they were so much more involved. I can only imagine what next year will bring! HA!

Casen getting kisses from mommy!

Family Pictures

2010-01-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

I have been the worst blogger EVER here lately! I am so mad at myself for it too. I promised myself I would not let my blogging get behind, and here I am BEHIND. SO with that being said, I am going to have to blog all of DECEMBER in this next week. With all that blah, blah blah being said, let the blogging marathon BEGIN!

These are a couple she took of us after we put the babies in the car, and I am glad she did! I love this one of Jeremy and I. We love to DANCE, as a matter of fact that is the first thing we did the night I met my high school sweetheart. We just celebrated our 13th Anniversary this December~

We had family pictures taken this year, and surprisingly it went ok. I really liked how some of them turned out. I must mention it was really wet, and then all of sudden while we are taking pictures the good ole' TEXAS TEMP dropped to freezing COLD! Needless to say we didn't take as many as we wanted to but, got in some good ones. Jeremy and I have finally got it down to a "T" how long it takes to get all 8 of us ready to go out. Here are some of the pics from that day, these were my favorites anyway. Cooper was a mess when it came to getting a photo of him, he was too interested in the waterfall and the leaves!

My sweet & handsome Haiden, I love this photo of him.

Daddy and all his love bugs~

Kennedy took so many great photos, I had a hard time picking out my favorite, but I have to say this one is just BEAUTIFUL of her. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture of Casen, the picture is a perfect image of his personality. He is so funny, and has the cutest smile~one of those "how could you get mad at me faces"The boys DID NOT want to sit on the BENCH, even though they were crying, I still love this photo!

Me with my diva and diva in training~

Cooper was wanting to get away, because down below our feet was a big pile of leaves he has just discovered.

Ella was being such a ham that day, and was in such a great mood~ I love this one of her. Poor COle on the other hand was not feeling the whole "picture day" and needed some loving.

You gotta love this one! All the babies were watching Nana dance around behind the photographer to get there attention. Problem was, Nana was on the side of the photographer not behind the photographer. HA! This is actually one of my FAVORITE pictures of us.

Gobble Gobble

2009-11-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

I found this really cute recipe for turkey sugar cookie online. I asked Kennedy & Haiden if they wanted to make them and take to school. Well, Haiden informed me that maybe he was a little too old for that, but Kennedy jumped at the idea. The 3 of us decorated them and had a great time. She took them to school to share with her class. When I picked her up from school that day, I asked her, "how where the cookies"? She told me "EVERYBODY loved them, but some people said that candy corn is gross". It is so funny the things kids say. I had to agree with some of her classmates, I am not a fan of candy corn. Here is the picture of the final product.

Fight for Preemies

2009-11-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

Fight for Preemies~~~~~~~~~~Bloggers Unite

Since it is National Preemie Awareness I wanted to share a little bit about our preemies.

I can't believe it has been 19 1/2 mos since we welcomed our 4 tiny 2lb preemies into this world. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. I blamed myself for not being able to carry them longer, but I know now I DID do everything I could to carry them for as long as I did. Cooper's placenta had other plans, and for that we had an emergency c-section at 28wks 5days. Each of the babies were born 11wks premature. Each baby only weighing 2lbs. I remember the first time I was able to "really" walk to the NICU, I had to make a stop at the lactation office for the hook-ups for the breast pump, while I was there I saw these precious little tan colored teddy bears. The bears were wearing a t-shirt that had March of Dimes on it. The nurses had just told us that we could put something in the beds with the babies. I immediately bought a teddy bear for each of the babies. I didn't realize at the time that the $5 bear I had just bought was a donation to the March of Dimes and what this organization was ALL about. That day I went home and got on the Internet to find out all I could about the March of Dimes. I am so glad I did, because just 3 days earlier, I had given birth to four preemies.
We are very blessed and our story has a happy ending, unfortunately not everyone has the same story with there preemie/preemies. We did have our shares of ups & downs and rode the "famous" NICU roller coaster ride. But let me just say this, it is not a ride I would wish on anyone. However, after the ride was over, I had 4 healthy & happy babies, and I will never be able to thank The Womens Hospital NICU doctors, nurses & staff enough for what they did for our four babies. We are so thankful for them. I thank God everyday for blessing us with these 4 beautiful babies, and that we were chosen to be their parents. I can't even imagine my life with out them, or all six of my kids. So please check out the link about Bloggers unite and read all about March of Dimes.

Here is pictures of the babies at one day old and 19mos old~they are in birth order Ella, Cole, Cooper & Casen

Off to see the Wizard!

2009-11-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

Just a few pictures to hold you over until I do the Full Halloween Post!

Blogger Missing in Action

2009-10-30T07:19:00.001-07:00

I was so good about blogging and keeping everyone up to date on the latest and greatest with Perez Party of 8, but as some of you may have noticed and commented about, I have not been blogging very much lately. What could possibly be the reason for this you ask????????? Other than the fact that I have 4 very ACTIVE quadruplets, 10 yr old, 6 yr old & a wonderful husband who has been on straight nights since August. Actually none of that believe it or not. The real reason I haven't been blogging, is because I have just recently embarked on a new adventure. When God blessed us with quadruplets, making me a stay at home again to all 6 of our kids, which is the BEST job EVER, I had no idea I would get the opportunity to even fulfill this idea I had!!!!!! What I am getting at, is this, I have recently started my own business called Southern Chic Boutique. I am making & selling rhinestone apparel (crosses, Fleur De lis, sports mom & sooo much more)

hair bows & interchangeable crochet headbands

tutus~can do any color tutu & and matching hair bow!

pillowcase dresses/matching bow~these are great dresses if it his cold (you can wear it with leggings & long sleeve shirt under it) if hot out side just put some bloomers under it. Get 2 seasons out of 1 dress.

I am also adding new stuff all the time. I wanted to do something that I really liked but that was also affordable to . With that idea in mind, I started my business. It has been doing really well, and I am in the process of getting a website up & running. However, I do have a business page on facebook if you are interested in checking out my stuff. I can also do custom work with any of my products. So if you don't see what your looking for or already have something in mind, send me and email I we can work together to meet your needs. I will also offer discounts to anyone buying multiples items at once. If you would you like to order something, and you mention this post I will give you 10% discount or free shipping. So go check out my stuff and tell me what you think. I will have a blog now that will be just for my business, but in the mean time I wanted to let my blogger friends know what I have been up to.

Here are a couple of pics of my stuff~

First School Dance

2009-10-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I am sitting here writing this. Haiden went to his first school dance last weekend.

He was so excited to go, so what does a dance mean.......new clothes of course. Off we went to get him some new clothes. We had so much fun shopping, I couldn't believe it, my son having fun shopping. REALLY??? He got all dressed up and told me "mom I need Dad's cologne because he has the REAL good smelling stuff. I thought that was so funny and so cute, and ALL grown up. WOW! He went with a friend of his, I picked the boys up from the dance. I got all the gossip, hehe! I asked him so, who did you dance with? his response "nobody", WHAT???? He said I did dance the cupid shuffle, but otherwise I didn't dance. He then goes on to tell me, "mom, those girls, they get DOWN, I mean GET DOWN, of course telling me this and cracking up laughing at the same time. I made a comment about him being very giggly, his reply "oh yeah, they had snacks, so I ate 2 bags of chips & 3 candy bars". I just laughed and realized, he is such a guy to want to talk about the food & how much he ate. I remember walking out from picking him up with another mom (who I went to high school with) and I said, "girl, I can't even believe we are picking up our BABIES from a school dance". Man time really does fly. All in all, Haiden had a great time, and looked so handsome all dressed up & ready to go. My question is, do you think he will brag about all the snacks he ate at his senior prom??? HA!

Box Races ANYONE?

2009-10-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

Cole: "what did you say box races?"

So when all else fails give em boxes, buckets or socks!

This is one of our new found favorites! They love bowls, buckets & spoons!

Cole is one of our thumb suckers! Normally he holds his blanket, but he was sleepy & decided his Daddy's CLEAN sock would do the trick! A little update on Cole, he is not only full blown walking, he is running & CLIMBING!!!!!

The quads got Nana & Nonnie to push them around in these diaper & wipe boxes!

They had the best time doing this. We laughed, they laughed it was just good fun all the around!

Who could leave out this picture of Ella getting kisses from her Dada! Poor baby she is such a snaggle tooth! But the cutest snaggle tooth ever!

Honest Scrap Award!

2009-09-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

It seems as though I was nominated by Sandra for the Honest Scrap Award! "What does that mean," you ask?! The idea is to share 10 honest things about yourself that your blog readers may not already know about you, and then pass the award on by nominating 7 other blogs that you find "brilliant in content or design". Sounds easy enough, right? Here We Go…….

1) I love to cook & bake!!!
(2) I am absolutely deathly afraid of the DARK!!!!
(3) I am way too ADD to sit and get fake nails on, even though I love them & how good they look. Although, I did get them done for my sister's wedding this weekend!
(4) I love to get massages & have my back scratched!
(5) The thought of having to watch a scary movie makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up!
(6) I am absolutely in love with CLAY WALKER (so much that I went to see him in a wheelchair 24 wks pregnant with QUADS)
(7) Seeing my husband with a ball cap turned around backwards still makes me weak in the knees!!! Yes, even after 15 yrs of being together!
(8)Eating sweets for breakfast is the bestest thing EVER!!!!
(9)The more bling I can put on, the better!!! I love RHINESTONES!!! So much so that I just started my own business! Southern Chic Boutique~selling rhinestone apparel!
(10)I am always worried if I have hurt someones feelings or if they are mad at me! Although, I have gotten so much better I am still a worrier!

TIME TO PASS IT ON...............................
Astrid from Surviving Triplets
Celeste from Sweet Pea plus Three
Mari from Goerlich Quadruplets
Tina from Mclean Blessed 4ever

First Day of School

2009-08-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

WOW~time to start another school year! Haiden is going into 5th grade & Kennedy is going into 1st! Before long the quads will be in school too! Both of them were very excited because they were both going to BRAND NEW schools. Here is the picture of them from this morning!

Just A Swingin'

2009-08-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

While Haiden & Kennedy were away visiting mamaw&papaw martin, we decided to take the babies to the park. We picked a great day to go too! This Texas weather is a killer, so it just happened to be overcast that day, and even a little windy.

They had a really good time swinging. Well............everyone but Cole.

It just wasn't his thing. He fussed but everyone else was all SMILES! A couple of them even went down the slide. All in all it was a great experience and we look forward to many more trips to the park with all of the kids.

Look Who's Walking TOO!

2009-08-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

Mr. Casen Cash himself! This is so funny to us that he wasn"t the first one to walk, considering he is mr. daredevil. I guess he thought he would stick to his climbing and then master walking.

He is doing really cute things right now as well. He is holding up his pointer finger when you ask him how old he is, mimics your laugh and says"hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" with the cutest grin ever. All of the babies are doing cute stuff as well. Everyone except for Casen is saying "amen"! Ella is still walking around saying mama over and over and over again, but I am certainly not complaining. Cooper and Cole are saying "wow", Cooper is also now telling us "uh uh"! Cole is still the most verbal of them all, speaking of him he is finally taking steps. I guess he is too busy being bossy, that he doesn't have time for walking! HA! He is saying "pow pow" "wow" "amen" "hot dog"! I know many of you are waiting on the part II of the 4th of July trip so that is coming soon. I have a "big something" in the works, so my time has been a little preoccupied.

Happy Birthday Kennedy Elizabeth

2009-07-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

I wanted to wish Miss Kennedy a very happy birthday. I can't believe our sweet little girl turned 6 today. WOW! Times really flies by when your loving life. She is so full of life, and always makes you smile.

She is still very much into dancing and loves her BLING! I can't imagine where she gets that from.

She is out of town visiting her mamaw & papaw martin this week and attending VBS, but will be home this weekend, so will be able to celebrate her birthday. In just a few short weeks she will be going to first grade, that just doesn't seem real. So "nennedy lou bop" have a wonderful birthday. We love you.

MY MY MY Boogie SHOES

2009-07-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

Watch out world we officially have two walkers in the house. Cooper and Ella have taken off. I can't believe it. I really thought Casen would be the one to walk first, but apparently Cooper and Ella had other plans. Cooper had been taking steps, and then one day out of the blue Ella backed up against the couch and took off walking.

They still tumble down, but 95% of the time they are walking everywhere. You might ask yourself what does that mean for us, well......... Let me tell you, that means we now also have climbers! They can walk and climb! Lucky us! HA! I will have to admit, it is very nice having them walk, especially when we are going from one place to the next. Like in the house or out to the car. I'm sure I won't be saying that once they don't want to be held anymore because they can walk, but in the meantime it is great to see them developing so wonderfully.

Casen isn't too far behind on walking, but he is such a "mama's boy", he would actually have to get off my hip and get down to practice walking. Cole is also doing an awesome job, so good in fact that ECI will not discontinue seeing him after August. They said he has worked out his "issues" that his low muscle tone was causing. That is wonderful news for him. He can stand by himself, and will take a few steps with a little support under his elbows. Before long all of these lil' stinkers will have on their "boogie shoes"! Stay tuned for the "part 2 of our road trip/4th of July post!

4th of July weekend/first road trip PART-1

2009-07-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, you have read that correctly. I am gonna have to post this in three parts due to all the "excitement" that went into our 4th of July weekend and 1st road trip. I took lots of advice from my fellow quad moms on taking a road trip. I got to packing first because clearly that was going to be the biggest challenge of this whole adventure "I thought" (more on that later) I put all 6 kids outfits & pj's in a big ziploc for each day. I did the same with their swimming attire.

Then I put 4 booster seats , 4 pool floats, diaper bag for road, toys, snacks, movies, GATES, runabout stroller all in the garage to load up the next morning. Thankfully my mom had gotten 4 pack n plays for us, so we didn't have to worry about packing that. We got up Friday at 6am, Jeremy loaded the Expedition with all "the STUFF".

I was busy changing babies and feeding them breakfast so we wouldn't have to stop and feed them that meal on the road. That is a note to self good idea. Last we loaded the kids and finally ourselves!

It started off a great ride, the babies fell asleep and slept for a couple of hours, except for ......yep, Casen. He wasn't about to miss a thing. HA! But he was so good, he never fussed at all, not even after his poop mess.

However, Haiden (who has HORRIBLE migraines) started complaining of a headache, so we gave him his medicine and hoped he would be able to sleep his headache off. WRONG!!!! That will be in post #2.
We did make 3 stops along the road: one to change Ella's poop diaper, then Cooper's poop diaper, and last to change Casen's poop diaper and clothes. Yes, ladies & gentlemen he POOPED all over himself and his car seat. You can just imagine the stink that came from that mess.HA!

However after 5 1/2 hrs on the road we made it to Mamaw's & Papaw's house. We got unloaded and were ever so glad to be out of the car.

We went straight in to "baby proof" the house with the gates. Unfortunately, my poor Haiden was not getting any better from his migraine, so he went to lay down and Jeremy and I just plopped ourselves down. Funny you would think after being in the car for 5 1/2 hrs, sitting would be the last thing we would want to do, but we were ready to just PLOP!

I have to say all in all the road trip wasn't bad at ALL!

Stay tuned for the 4th of July post, which will be part 2~

A sneak peek

2009-07-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

This post will be a short sneak peek at our 4th of July. We will be going on our first road trip as a family of 8. We are spending the 4th with my mom at her house. I took this picture of the babies the other day and realized they were all in red/white/blue. This will have to hold you until we get back from our trip with the REAL 4th of July pictures and all the fun stuff we will being doing. Until then..............
They crack me up in this picture, no one is looking at the camera. Poor Cooper crying and Casen's look on his face is PRICELESS! He is like "I didn't do anything to him"!

Father's Day!

2009-07-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

I honestly think there should be a blogger award out there given to the person that is late on blogging EVERYTHING! Ok enough with pour me!

We spent father's day here at the house. Jeremy was still working everynight on the shutdown at work, so he slept most of the day. That's ok, cause our daddy works hard and he brings home our groceries, so we won't complain. When he got up, I told him let's give it a shot and put the babies in the big pool. I had went out earlier that day and found the floats with canopys. Of course I could only find 3 that matched. Oh well! He aired them up and I smothered the babies in sunblock, and if you look close enough at some of the pics, I didn't rub it in good enough, or got way to much on them. Well, techincally I don't think I could put too much sunblock on them. You get the idea! Some of them look like they had powder poured on them. They had so much fun. Ella loves the water, so much that she wants to just "jump" right in. We also got a visit from Nonnie & Popo on there way back in from out of town. I went to visit my dad and before we knew it our daddy had to go back to work. We really enjoyed our time together. I know some of you are asking yourselves why Kennedy & Haiden aren't in any of the pictures? That is because they were out of town at my mom's house. They spent the week there, and were flying in town the next day with my mom. So Jeremy got to celebrate father's day twice!

Dear Jeremy,

You are such a wonderful husband & father. I couldn't ask for a better man. You unselfishly give so much of yourself to be able to provide for our family. I love the way the kid's faces light up when you come in from work, and all 6 go running for you saying "daddy's home". Then one by one you give them their individual attention, and they just smile and look you in your eyes. Ah, it melts my heart. Our children are so lucky to have you and be able to say your their daddy. You are someone I admire and have so much respect for. I know sometimes life can get crazy, but having you as their daddy & my husband, ANYTHING is possible. I love you and hope you had a wonderful father's day and look forward to spending so many more with all of you.

Love,

Brandy

And she danced.............

2009-06-26T10:08:00.001-07:00

Kennedy had her dance recital recently. She did such a good job. She absolutely loves to dance. After watching her jazz routine and seeing how she pops her hips, I think her daddy realized he really has his hands full. She is such a diva, so you can imagine how much she loves being in the spotlight. This is her 3rd year to take dance. Auntie Ashley, stayed all day and late into the evening with us. Her dance instructor has them do the rehearsal & recital all in ONE day. UGH! I think it is harder on the moms than anyone else. HA! But Auntie was a trooper and spent the day with us. Kennedy just loves her to death, so it was great that she was able to spend the whole day with her. Thank you Auntie for all your help that day, and to my mom for helping out with the babies. Also a big thank you goes to Nana Shelia for staying with babies during the recital so all of the family could attend, plus it didn't even start until after there bedtime. Can't wait to see what next year's recital has in store for us. Just think in two years I'll have 2 ballerina girls.

Here is she is with her partners in crime. Zoe, Sidney & Kennedy!

This is her with her Auntie Ashley

I've been featured!

2009-06-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! Multiples and More Blog featured our blog today on their blog. I am super excited for many different reasons. One, their blog is wonderful. It has lots of information for families of multiples or soon-to-be parents of multiples. They have TONS of giveaways, and honestly who doesn't like that? Plus, the interview experts, and it's a blog to find other families with multiples & their blogs.

I can remember first finding out we were having QUADS, and thinking "I don't know anyone with quads". Well, after some Internet googling I found several blogs that were families with quads. I was so relieved to have another resource to turn to with ALL my questions. I have continued to keep in touch with these ladies, and I have even met some new ones along the way. All through the blogging world. Granted some people I have met were at the hospital, my local multiples group, or just word of mouth, but mainly through blogging. So you can imagine how excited I was when I found Multiples and More blog. They asked for people that wanted to be featured to send an email. That is exactly what I did, and with in no time they got back with me, and later sent interview questions for me to answer. It is a wonderful thing when you find other families with multiples that totally GET & UNDERSTAND where you are, where your coming from and where your going. It is a great resource to have. I strongly urge families with or going to have multiples to find others in the same boat, it can be a lifesaver or sanity saver depending on the day. HA! I can't tell you one person with multiples that I know, that is not willing to help you. It may through an email, phone call, meeting up with them, or even passing along items for multiples that are lifesavers. I can't imaging not having my friends of multiples to lean on & have as a resource. So go check out their blog, Multiples and More, and read the post about Perez Party of 8! They did a wonderful job!

OF course I wouldn't do a post without a few pictures of the kiddos! Now how fair would that be? This is their new toy, as you can see from the pics, some love it and some don't that seems to be the thing around here lately!

NO EXCUSE!

2009-06-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

I hate when I have such great things to blog about, and I get busy or don't sit down and take the time to blog about them. Or start a blog and take forever to finish it. I have made a promise to myself, that I will get better at posting, my goal is 2 posts a week. There are soooo many things I want to blog. This is a perfect example about something I had started but didn't make myself finish. It should have been something I posted a MONTH ago, so without further a-do, I give you my Mother's Day 2009. We had a great day, we had the family over to our house for dinner. The day was beautiful, so we decided to take out the baby pool and slip n slide for the big kids. The pool, we thought was going to be a great idea, well it was for Cooper and Ella. Casen & Cole on the other hand, HATED the water. It was too cold for them. I felt horrible, they cried as soon as they touched the water, so I took a quick picture, and out they came. Then I thought, I know, I'll take a picture of them in their bathing suits in the grass. WRONG! The two that didn't like the water, didn't like the grass. Again, I just snapped a quick pic, and up into the arms of family they went. Here is the attempt to get a picture of me with the kids. We had to put a towel on the grass, for the ones that hated it. Last year I spent part of Mother's Day in the NICU with the babies, and the other half at home with Haiden & Kennedy. This year I was blessed to spend it at home with all 6 six of babies and my wonderful husband. It was a wonderful Day.
I am pre-warning you, the rest of the post is pics from the day. So you may go into picture overload, so don't say I didn't warn you!

Kennedy's Kindergarten Graduation

2009-05-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Kennedy graduated from Kindergarten. She has been so excited about this day for almost a month. Everyday she has done a countdown til the day. I went out an bought just a couple of cute dollar store graduation decorations, and decorated the kitchen for her. I had her present waiting for her on the kitchen table. She was so excited when she came downstairs and saw everything. This was the first morning all year that she actually jumped out of bed to get ready for school. HA! She looked so cute in her cap and gown. She looked so grown up. It really made me stop and realize how fast time flies. I still remember the day I brought her home from the hospital. She was all of 6lbs, and I remembering thinking how small she was. (that was until I had four 2lb babies). She had a head full of jet black hair. Now, still with the head full of hair, now only it's brown. They did a cute little ceremony, she sang 3 songs, and then got her diploma. We took her to eat at her favorite Mexican food restaurant, and celebrated with chocolate cake. She had a great day, we are so proud of her. She is now officially a 1st grader. Did I really just type that! WOW. We did joke around at the graduation commenting on what it would be like with 4 graduating at the same time. But I don't want to rush time, so for now it's all about Kennedy and her graduation. I love you, Miss Pris!

Super Cute Teacher Appreciation Gifts

2009-05-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

I went over to Tip Junkie, which by the way I am addicting to, and got some really cute ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week. I made the water flavor holder, and added the cute message on the front and hung it on the water bottle. Then I decorated the hand sanitizer bottles, each one to match the teacher's likings. The tag on them said " Hands down you're the BEST!" Then I baked a Poppy Seed cake, which I will be adding to my yummy recipes. I put a piece in a clear bag, and added a tag that said "It's a piece of cake, when picking my favorite teacher. I added a tag to a package of Mounds, and it read " Mrs. ______ I learned Mounds of new things this year" Last I made caramel apples. I dipped them into caramel, then chocolate, and sprinkled them with pecans, toffee chips, and some I did with peanut butter chips. The kids really loved taking the gifts to their teachers. The were a big hit with the teachers as well.

Somebody got CUT

2009-05-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Their haircut that is! Cole and Casen were way over due for haircuts. Thanks to Mrs. Kim she came over and cut their hair for us. Also a big thank you to Auntie Ashley & Auntie Heather for holding the boys so I could get pictures of their 1st haircut. They did so good. Casen was very quiet & still, if you can believe that. I think it was because he was not sure what was going on. It will be interesting to see how they do the older they get. Cole on the other hand was good, but we had to give him goldfish to keep him entertained. I am sure you are wondering why Cooper & Ella didn't get their haircut. Well Ella being a girl, we are letting her hair grow. Cooper had so many IV's in his head in the NICU causing them to have to shave his head in several spots, so He is just now getting a full head of hair.

On another note, the kids have turned 13 mos old. They are all standing independently. OH MY! Cooper and Casen have taken a few steps. Ella and Cole are a little more cautious. They are saying new things all the time. Cole's new word is uh-o! Ella & Casen have learned to hit their mouth to make noises, like ah, ah, ah you get what I'm saying. HA! Cooper is still being a little ham, he loves the camera & to dance. Cole has started a new thing where he lays down in the floor to let you know he is pitching a fit, but making sure he keeps looking up to make sure someone sees him doing this. Then when you pick him up, he just smiles with this wrinkled up old face. Too CUTE!

Yes! This is all of us!

2009-05-03T05:37:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a picture of our family, well I should say all of the Perez Family. This picture was taken last weekend at Jeremy's uncle Homer's wedding. Yes, this is all of the Perez'! It is Jeremy's parents, brother, sister, our nephew and us. ALL 13 of us. One big happy family, it's a great family, and we have great memories, with many more to come! And yes all 13 of us pretty much are at everything together, but isn't that how it's supposed to be? We have even gone out to eat since the quads have been born. That was the first time we were Perez Party of 13. It was great! I love you Perez'!
This one was a good pic, but it you can't see Ella & Cooper.

Birthday Bash

2009-04-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is a little late!

I am still sitting here in disbelief that is has been a year since the quads were born. And we're still alive to tell about it. HA! We had a great party for them, as you all know from the previous post, we did a monkey theme. Let me tell you how hard this was to find stuff to decorate with. So, I had to result to making some of the decorations. I made their birthday banner out of monkey & colored card stock. Then we hung it above the fireplace. I made their birrthday hats, out of monkey material, pom-poms & rhinestones for Ellas. I bought an oval glass dish, and filled it with green M&M's and stuck monkey face suckers in it. I did however find some cute monkey's hanging from palm trees. I just placed them is different places around the house. I also found monkey's hanging from palm tree sticks, so I made a fruit bouquet. I stuck them in a green pail I found from the dollar spot at Target. Last but not least, I made the cake, and their individual cakes. I totally hated how theirs turned out, and to be honest I really didn't love the big cake, but it worked. We rented a moon walk for the big kids to have something to do, and the babies just loved on all the family and friends that were there. We did hotdogs and finger foods, since the party was at 2 in the afternoon. You should have seen them with all of the presents, they were so excited to be able to have so many bows, tissue paper and wrapping paper to chose from to eat. They loved it! Then came one of my favorite parts of all, with the help of two friends, we put a DVD together of their first year, no one knew about it. They loved it, of course they could have rung my neck for making them cry, but it was a happy cry, I am so glad I have that DVD. It took along time to put together but so worth it. Ah yes, my other favorite part of the party. CAKE!!!!!!!!!! They dove right in! Casen was such a cake hog, he tried to steal Cooper and Ella's every chance he got. Ella loved it as did Cole. Cooper is not a huge sweets fan, so he made hair products out of his cake and icing.HA! After the fun with the cake, we quickly gave them a bath and their bottle. They hung out for a while, but they were so tired they crashed at 5:45 PM and never woke up! Happy Birthday to my sweet angels!

PLEASE PRAY for KAYLEIGH

2009-04-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

Please take a moment and pray for Kayleigh and her family. She came into this world 3 mos early and weighed 1lb. She is now 10mos old, and has been in the NICU since she was born. She has recently had an operation and she has been recovering, and now she will not wake up. They ran some tests, and they are saying that part of her brain has no activity. Kayleigh and her family really need your prayers, so if you would just take a moment and pray for her. This is the link to their blog if you would like to read her story. Kayleigh's Story
PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY

OMG!

2009-04-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

I have to update our tooth count. I can't believe it is like overnight. This is just a quick post, but I don't want to forget. I promise birthday pics VERY soon.
Cole:3 last week NOW 6 total

Ella:0 last week NOW 1:)

Casen:2 last week NOW 2 trying to cut through

Cooper:2 last week NOW i have no idea, because we can't keep his hands out of his mouth long enough to try and see, but we think he has 2 more coming in as well.

WOW!!!!!!!!! I must admit they have been fussy. They had never been before when getting teeth, but NOW, WATCH OUT! They have even been running a low grade temp! We thought maybe ear infections, but NOPE doc says its TEETH X 4. :) I feel so sorry for them, they want to chew on everything or be held. Good thing Daddy has been off, and Mamaw is here visiting.

B-day post coming soon.................so stay tuned.

We're MOVING & TEETHING & BITING to the MUSIC

2009-04-11T19:12:00.001-07:00

When someone cried! That's right folks we are officially biting. I knew it would happen, but the question is now what? How do you stop it? Poor Ella has no teeth what so ever, therefore she gets bitten. Cole is the worst of the biters. Cooper only bites if you put your finger in his mouth, and surprisingly Casen, has only bitten ME! I am sure the biting will get worse before it gets better, but in the mean time, I am open to suggestions. Here is the official tooth count.

Ella:0

Cole:4

Cooper:2

Casen:2

I will do a birthday post soon, but it will be a big one so I want to get it all together before I do it.

Happy Birthday

2009-04-01T21:07:00.001-07:00

WOW! I can't believe how fast this year has come and gone. One year ago today, I was just getting ready to order breakfast, when out of NO WHERE, I felt this piercing pain in my upper right side. I remember at first thinking that Cooper was just pushing on my ribs. WRONG!!!! It seemed to get worse every breath I took. I managed to crawl up the bed to push the nurse button. I was in such pain, I could barely speak. In seconds, Maggie (mine & the quads Angel) came into my room, for what would be the last time she would care for me in Anti-partum. Of course I didn't know that at the time. She tried to get me hooked up to the monitor to see if it was contractions, but already having a baby before, I KNEW it wasn't contractions. She pushed the button to call for some help. She then looked at me eye to eye and very calmly said, "Brandy, I have been a L&D nurse long enough to know that something is wrong, I am paging Dr. Reiter 911". She then says again very calmly, "You need to get your cell phone, we are taking you in your bed to the ultrasound room to check for heartbeats only, and then you are probably having some babies". I did exactly that, but I had actually already called my mom and told her to get Jeremy up, who by the way had just come off of working the 12 hr night shift. I told her for them to get up to the hospital ASAP, something was wrong, and I thought I would be having the babies. They wheeled me into the smallest US room ever, and Dr. Reiter came running in, ripped the WHOLE top of the US jelly and dumped the bottle of jelly on my stomach. He looked at me and said, "I am just checking for 4 heartbeats, and maybe try to see what is causing the pain. I still at this point was in excruciating pain. I stayed very calm, and I called Tammie and told her she needed to pray, something was wrong, and I was probably having the babies. Dr. Reiter announced 1, 2, 3, & 4, yes, we have 4 heartbeats. Brandy is this where the pain is? Yes, I said. He then says to me, "How fast can Jeremy get up here?" "We need to take the babies NOW"! Baby C, which was Cooper, placenta is tearing off the wall, if we don't get him out, he will die! Then the hustle and bustle began. This TINY roomed was filled with L&D nurses, anesthesia, OR nurses, Maggie, & Dr. Reiter, along with Dr. Adams. They started prepping me for an emergency C-section. Everyone was asking me questions at the same time, and all along the while I am still on my cell phone with my mom and Jeremy who were on there way. The anesthesiologist, says we are going to try and give you an epidural, but if it doesn't work we will have to put you to sleep. I turned over and sat up in the bed and said these exact words to him" Let me tell you something, I have fought a long hard battle to get these babies this far, I absolutely will not be put to sleep, so you better get the best you have on staff to get the epidural done right and make it work, you got it?'" I then laid back down and his reply, "Yes we will make sure we do that" That is exactly what happened, I was rushed to an OR, and trying to get my camera ready and still on my cell phone for the big day. They took me into the OR, got the epidural in right away, and they were trying to keep monitoring Cooper's heart rate. The nurse then yells, "I can't pick up the heartbeat for the baby anymore, Dr. Reiter looks at me and says I can't wait any longer for Jeremy, I am starting now. At the very moment he began to cut me, Jeremy was rushed in and was right by my side for the whole thing. At 9:36, we welcomed Ella & Cole, 9:37 Cooper, and 9:39 Casen was born. They were born at 28 wks 5days. I remember the moment that I heard I had to leave my older kids at home, and stay in the hospital until delivery, because I lived so far from the hospital. I was so sad to leave them, but on April 2, at 7:30am, I knew why God had that plan for me and the babies & why I was in the hospital, because had I not been there, Cooper's placenta would have probably completely abrupted and we would have lost him. It was truly a miracle from the conception of 4 babies to the birth of 4 healthy babies. Yes, we had the NICU roller coaster ride, but to have been so blessed to have 4 healthy, beautiful babies. We couldn't be more blessed that GOD chose us to be their parents. Do you believe in miracles? We DO! We couldn't have done it this year without the support & love from our family and friends, we love you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Ella 2lbs 0oz

Ella 18lbs 6oz

Cole 2lbs 7oz

Cole 17lbs 9oz

Cooper 2lbs 1oz

Cooper 20lbs 1oz

Casen 2lbs 7oz

Casen 17lbs 6oz

Happy Birthday Ella. Cooper, Cole & Casen our "4 miracles"

A Little Late

2009-03-28T08:03:00.001-07:00

I am a couple of days behind on posting this, but I really want to have this one as part of my blog for my memory if nothing else.

BED REST FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PREGNANCY

One Year Ago Today-March 23, 2008

Pre-term labor and hospital lockdown!

About 6Pm I noticed I was having contractions. I laid down and drank some water, but they never stopped coming. I called Jeremy and kept him updated, while Ashley and Tammie kept me company at the house. As they were trying not to fall asleep, seeing how they had to work the next day. Sorry guys. Mom continued to call to check in as well. Then I woke poor Christie, who also had to go to work the next day. And we all came to the conclusion that i needed to go in and just let them check me out. So we headed to L&D, can I just mention those beds are sooo uncomfortable. The nurses got me all checked in and hooked up. They that's when all the fun got began. That was just being a little sarcastic. Because the truth of the matter was, I was fixing to be introduced to my worst enemy, MAGNESIUM SULFATE!!!!! I'll get to that part a little later. Dr. Reiter came in to check my cervix, and thankfully I hadn’t dilated any, but I WAS still having contractions. They had slowed down. He said that if the contractions stop then I could go home but he also said that rarely happens. He then remembered that I lived about 45 min on a good day from the hospital, then I got the dreaded, but knew it was coming statement. "You will be in the hospital until you deliver". I can't even begin to explain what hearing that sounding like. The reason I say that is because, my first thought was my other two kids at home. We had been telling them that this would probably happen. But lets face it, kids don't really understand, Mommys not coming home until the babies are born. I just kept reminding myself that I was doing what was best for the babies. Plus, this would only be for a short time. I will admit, that really didn't stop my constant thoughts from being at home with my other two kids. But I survived and so did they. The Dr. then told the nurses my contractions were 3 minutes apart, and I would need to go on the MAG IV. YUCK!!!! Let me tell you about this MAG mess. It makes you feel like you are flushed, headache, and have the flu all at the same time. He told me that if they stopped I could come off. I ended up staying on that until I delivered, luckily it was lowered to the minimum dose, which was so manageable. The nice part about the manageable dose, was that I felt normal, other than feeling like my cheeks were sunburned, so the sweet nurses hooked me up with a HUGE fan, that blew straight on me, plus the hum from it, drown out the noise from the hospital. I loved that fan. We were hoping I could keep them in until I was 30 weeks which would have been April 11th. When I went in that night, I was 27wks and 2 days. The next day, I was finally moved to anti-partum, where I spent the rest of my time waiting for their arrival. I was monitored 2 times a day, and was told to rest, and grow babies. I had the best nurses ever. My favorite nurses were Ethel & Maggie. Plus my favorite tech, Laura. My very sweet and wonderful husband was there the whole time by my side that first 24 hrs. Then after that he & our family took turns staying with me at night, so that I wouldn't have to be alone.

I will post about delivery day.

I also included our last picture of a family of 4, I managed to go into pre-term labor on Easter Sunday!

This is a picture of me being monitored, or should I say all 4 babies being monitored. HA! You can see my red (MAG) face! HA!

Transforming into "Oh So Chic"

2009-03-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

In the midst of planning a 1st birthday party for the quads, we are redoing Haiden & Kennedy's rooms. Haiden is doing the camo theme (Hardwood real tree) to be exact, he is Daddy's hunting buddy. We thought this would be a good one to go with since he's kind of getting out of "little boy" things and into more "older boy". I can't believe it! He will in 5th grade next year. Ok, Ok enough with the mushy moment. Kennedy is doing zebra print & bright pink from Target. Kennedy's room required painting, doors changed out and crown molding, so her room is taking a little longer to complete. Haiden on the other hand wanted to keep his same room color (which is a yellowish, Camel color), but decorate and get new bedding. He too got new doors and trim. Not that they really cared about that kind of stuff. HA! I wanted to decorate her room more to suit a 5 yr old. That is the beauty of this bedding, it can grow with her! But, you women know, I'm sure she'll find something different down the road and want to change it again. HA! We painted the walls plain white, which is so not like me, but there was so much "busy" look to her room already with the print, I just kept the wall color simple. She did however want me to paint polka dots on the walls for her. So, I caved in and painted them. She chose silver, black & pink dots. We spray painted the plug covers, light switch cover and fan blade holders all silver. I went to JoAnns and bought some pink & zebra print fabric and made her a curtain.

That was a total of $10! I then went to the scrapbook section of JoAnns and bought matching paper, and covered the letters of her name to hang on the wall. I hung them up with some tulle. Total cost of that project $16.00. I thought they turned out really cute.

She picked out a $4 dollar lamp at the dollar store. I told her we would need to dress it up, then she could put it in her room. It already came with the zebra print shade, so I just added the 2 different trims. Total cost:$9.60. Not a bad deal. It's not a finished room, but I wanted to share the pics of the projects completed up to this point. I will post with the completed project.

A completed Invitation

2009-03-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

We finished the invitations, meaning me, Auntie Ashley & Nana. Thanks for all of your help! I was so glad to have these done, and in the mail. We are keeping the party pretty small. Mainly family and our close friends. With it still being RSV season, we would hate for the babies to get sick. So with that being said here is a pic of the invitations we made. The second pic is kind of blurry, but this one was the only one I took of the whole invitation.

Also I finally found the boys outfits. I am so glad to have this behind me. I really wanted to make them a monkey shirt, and I probably still will for cake eating, but this is the outfit for the party. I took a close up of one of the monkeys on the outfit. Now all I have to do is find Ella a onesie.

Here is my predicament: should I buy yellow or brown for her?

Rub a Dub Dub

2009-03-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

4 babies in a tub........

Thanks to a fellow multiple mom Astrid, I got the nerve to put all 4 of the babies in the big bathtub. It was great, and SO much easier. The only problem is getting all 4 up the stairs and then down the stairs. Overall, it is great to have them all in the tub at one time. They loved it too!

left to right: Cole, Casen, Cooper & Ella

OOPS!!! 2 winners of tutu and hair bow giveaway

2009-03-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

I realized after ramdomly selecting a winner, her guess was wrong. But, that is no problem, I will just have 2 winners. Therefore, I will be giving 2 tutus away. The other winner who guessed the quads birthday theme correctly and also ramdomly chosen, (since several of you got it right) is................................
Mary Anne Whiteley You guessed it correctly. We are doing a monkey theme. 4 lil monkeys.
So please send me an email with 2 colors of your choice and the length. I will reply with how to measure the waist. Hope to hear from you soon.

Don't forget I will soon have another giveaway........................

The Winner IS...... Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

The winner for the child size tutu is Carolyn. So Carolyn if you will send me an email telling me the two colors of choice & length. I will get started on your tutu. I will let you know in the email, how to measure the waist. Hope to hear from you soon.

So here is my St. Patty's Day shirt I made for the girls, the boys looks the same minus the BLING! I made the hair bow as well. It doesn't really belong on the collar of the shirt, but I wanted to take a pic of them both together.

PS- we are all over the fever! We have been fever free now since Monday AM. Thank you so much for your prayers and well wishes.

Saturday Night FEVER

2009-03-14T12:01:00.001-07:00

I really should say more like Friday night fever. All of the babies have a super high fever. They woke up from there nap yesterday with 102-103 ' fever. It is so sad to see them so sick. They got there last RSV shots Thursday. While we were there Ella had 102 fever, so they checked her out and found she had an ear infection. We noticed Cole was digging in his ear while we were there, so checked him and sure enough he had an ear infection too. I asked the dr. to check the other two but he insisted they were fine. I can't really understand why he wouldn't check them. Let me just add this is not our pediatrician, this is the Infectious Disease Control doctor that gives them the RSV injections. I didn't really fight him, since really they were acting fine, not pulling at ears or anything, I should of went with my "mommy insticnt" and MADE them check the other two. I know better now. Then like I mentioned before Friday they wake up at 3pm from the nap, and the other two boys, plus Cole are burning up with fever. I have been up every 3 hrs around the clock giving them Motrin & Tylenol. Oh, man how quickly I forgot how great it is to sleep through the night, that brought back some memories for me.HA! Now they are just laying around miserable and fighting fevers. I really feel like this is viral and not an ear infection, because Cole is on an antibiotic for 3 days now, and still running high fever. The good news is,Cooper seems to have turned the corner for the better and has been fever free since 6am. Ella has been over the fever since Friday, she is the one that actually got sick first on Wednesday night. I am hoping this will be over soon, I am so helpless, and they are so miserable. Pray we get over this soon.

Tutu & Matching Hair bow Giveaway

2009-03-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

Here's all you gotta do:

leave me a comment guessing the theme of the quads 1st birthday, and link!

The winner will be chosen randomly, just in case more than one person guesses it correctly

If you win, you pick the two colors of your choice

A winner will be chosen on Lucky Leprechaun Day, March 17th!

Perez Quads

Good luck!

My next giveaway will be very soon.....so stay tuned!

Move over Martha!

2009-03-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

I am only kidding. I have been making a lot of super cute baby things. I have always loved to make stuff & be crafty, but I have never found the time. So go figure I have time now that I have almost 1 year old quads, and a 9 & 5 year old. I am not really sure when I find the time, other than nap time. I guess it helps that I don't work. Well outside the home full time anymore. My cousin is having a baby, and I have always loved these super cute burp cloths. As you all know they are EXPENSIVE! I decided to make them myself, and I am actually pleased with how they turned out. Hope she likes them. I made them using the gerber 2-ply burp cloths, you know the ones that soak up everything. Burp cloths were a demand in this house at one time.

Then a friend of mine I taught with is having a little girl, so I got out my creative skills and went to work on this onesie. I love how this turned out too. I made a matching hair bow to match. Miss Avery will look super cute in this. Her mommy loved it too. Sorry the picture is so bright.

Then we come to this picture. My very first Tutu. I made this for Ella's 1st birthday. Below are some really sweet pics of her modeling it for you. I am so pleased at how well it turned out. I didn't want to make it too long, otherwise she wouldn't be able to crawl. I too made a matching bow to go with the tutu. It was funny watching the boys try to eat it, while she was modeling it. I know it doesn't match her onesie, but I can't reveal her whole birthday outfit just yet. So can you guess what the birthday party theme is going to be from the colors of her tutu?

Alright, I have a question for all you bloggers out there. Should I take a shot at trying to sell these items? Of course I would do the colors & material of your choice. I really don't want them to be priced to high, because that is the whole reason I made them. I want cute stuff to be affordable, especially us mommas with multiples. My plan would be to make the onesies & tutu's with matching bows. I also have the crochet headbands available. Any thoughts on this would be great.

Adding Easy Receipes to my blog

2009-03-01T18:44:00.000-08:00

I haven't done this yet, but have really wanted to! I love, love, love to cook. Even more, I love, love, love to cook recipes that are quick, easy and don't cost a lot to make. I decided I would add recipes to my blog for those of you out there that love to cook, but like me, don't have much time. I will have a link Yummy Recipes on the side of my blog for my recipes that I put on my blog to be able to keep a copy of them there. Some of these are not my own, so I will definitely give credit, where credit is due! I will put up as many as possible, so I will probably start with quite a few. I hope you enjoy cooking these for your family, as much as I do!

Pasta Salad

1 pkg cooked pasta (I prefer bow tie, but you can use whatever)
2 tomatoes chopped
1 cucumber chopped
1 red onion chopped
1 16oz bottle Italian Dressing
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1tbsp sesame seed
1tbsp poppy seed
2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Set cooked pasta aside. In a small bowl, mix Parmesan cheese, sesame seed, poppy seed, salt, paprika, garlic power, black & cayenne pepper together, set aside. In a large bowl pour in cooked pasta, tomatoes, and cucumbers, stir together. Then stir in about half of the Italian dressing over the pasta mix to give it some liquid. Next, add your bowl of seasonings. Mix all of this together really well, so that the seasonings don't clump together. Then add the rest of the Italian dressing. Continue to stir. Put in fridge to chill for about 1-2 hrs before serving.

It is quick & easy! Plus a great one to make the day before.

*If you make it the day before, save some of the dressing to pour on salad to moisten it up before serving.

All About COLE

2009-02-23T10:07:00.001-08:00

I am so behind on posting about each of the babies. I had really good intentions and then Haiden got sick, so blogging had to take a back seat. I am up and ready to blog.

Cole Austin Perez, he was always the calm laid back baby. Every time they would ultrasound me, he would just being laying flat on his back or on his tummy. He was baby B, so he was between Ella (his partner in crime) and Cooper. He too would let them measure him at all the ultrasounds, He just went with the flow of things. Cole was also one of the babies that kind of flew threw the NICU stay. When he was born he initially had more trouble breathing, so they intibated him and gave him the surfactant right away. He was the last of the babies they brought for me to see in the recovery room, because of his breathing issues. However, once he received the surfactant, he was able to come off the ventilator and be put on CPAP. This all happened before I had even got to see him. When they rolled him up to my bed, I remember seeing this dark purple line on his stomach, they said that he probably bumped an instrument when they were pulling him out of my stomach, since it turned into an emergency c-section.

He was the first of the baby I got to hold. I will never forget that moment, I just looked at him, and tears just started pouring down my face. He weighed 2lbs 7oz & 14in long. So when they handed him to me, it was like holding a wrapped up blanket with nothing inside, but inside was the sweetest & hairiest baby. He had black hair all over his body, and jet black hair, which is still jet black. He is the only one of the six kids that their hair stayed black. I remember when the NICU nurses made him a name sign, they put a turtle on it. Well we quickly found out that was the wrong animal to pick for him. He was more like superman, and that is what everyone called him. He was always trying to get out of his snugly, he would put himself, in what looked like the most uncomfortable positions. However, if you tried to reposition him, his stats would drop. What a stinker. The funny thing is he stills sleeps like that. The only added thing he does now when he sleeps is, suck his thumb! He had one of our favorite nurses Amy and Kay. They would always call him a flirt, because every 3 hrs like clock work, he knew when it was time to eat. So he would be wide eyed just waiting on someone to come and tend to him. If they didn't get there in what he thought was a fast enough time, then he would drop his stats and make his alarms sound. He always knew how to get the ladies attention. He was the second in line to get his CPAP off and put on nasal cannula. Just before he was to go up to level II NICU to join his sister, we experienced one of the most scariest events. They had just gotten through with all of their ROP exams. This sometimes can stress them out. Well our nurse for the day Patty was taking care of Cooper because he kept pulling off his CPAP. I was standing between Cole & Cooper's isolettes. I kept thinking I could hear one of their alarms going off, but nothing seemed to be sounding, when all of sudden I hear it again. I look over to Cole's machine, and his O2 and heart rate were dropping fast. I went over to rub his back to try to remind him to breathe, but had no luck. In the mean time Patty was still trying to take care of Cooper who was still having trouble himself. Patty asked me to flip him over, maybe that would be enough stimulation. When I flipped him over, not only was he not responding to touch, he was dark blue almost black! Patty made due with Cooper and turned Cole's nasal cannula all the way to 100%, but he still was in trouble, so she yelled for respiratory, and no one heard her, so I went into the middle walk area, and screamed for respiratory. Beverly, came running to Cole's bedside and had to bag him, thankfully she got him back. She is Cole's guardian angel. I was standing there watching this whole thing take place, and realizing I couldn't do anything to save him. I felt so helpless as a mother. After all the commotion, he settled down, and never had another one of those episodes. We all told Cole he didn't look good in blue, so he wouldn't be aloud to wear that color again. Yes, he is dressed in blue sometimes.

He was the first one to out grow preemie diapers. He did have SEVERE reflux, so they had him on Prevacid & Bethanchol. These two meds would help his reflux, because when he would starting refluxing he would drop his stats. He was one of my projectile pukers. He too did very well nursing, he took to it with no problem. He was also sent home on the apnea monitor and oxygen with feeds.

The day he and Ella were to come home, we were dressing them and getting ready to leave. Melissa our primary nurse, had us all loaded up, we had just said our goodbyes to Cooper & Casen, and the NICU people, when right in front of the elevator, his monitor started going off. Melissa looked at both of us, and said"now is your chance to prove you can work it" Great, we started scrambling, because this machine sounds like a whistle going off. Needless to say, I turned it off, because I was panicking. He seemed to do this every time we were at the Dr as well. He had a couple of blue spells, thankfully just needed a little rub and he was fine. Once he got home, poor Cole had such a hard time with this reflux, he was violently puking, he would get choked, and start turning blue. It was so scary, thankfully Christie had the tucker sling that she had used with her daughter. We put him in that, and he did so much better. It propped him up, to where he was basically sleeping sitting up. He finally got better so we were able to put him in his bed, propped up, but in his bed a couple of weeks later. He was always so laid back, didn't care if he was the last to eat, burp, get changed, what ever he waited. Well..............he has changed his mind on being laid back, he gets very upset, and kicks his legs, and yells, when has to wait. He really is going to work on this considering he has 5 other siblings. HA! He is still a cutie. He has so much personality!

We call him Colie Olie, his Auntie Heather started that, and she swears he's not her favorite. It's OK, we all know better! HA! He talks the most. He says Dada, Bye-Bye, Bubba & HEY! His bed is next to Ella so he slaps at her bed when he can't sleep, or is already awake to get her up to talk with him. It is so funny to hear them over the monitor. He always manages to steal her blanket from her. He has learned to pull up in his bed and slap the walls, making sure everyone knows he is awake. He has now taught the other 4 this trick. Thanks Cole:) He still has low muscle tone in his abdomen, which he receives ECI (physical therapy) for, they said it is one of those preemie things. He is doing so well. He wasn't sitting up, or even really trying to crawl when he started receiving ECI, which was in December. He is now crawling, sitting up by himself, pulling up to stand, and getting out of a standing position. His PT said that he will probably not qualify at his 6 mos re-evaluation. Of course the services are available to them until the age of 3 (if needed later). He is just a very cautious baby, so he is not necessarily slower, just wants to make sure he can before he does it. He weighs the same as Casen, but looks bigger. He was always the biggest baby, but not anymore. Cooper took that over.

Dear Cole Austin,

From the moment I saw you on the ultrasound screen I loved you. You are such a sweet, and very vocal baby. I love looking at you, and you smile the biggest smile. Your big brown eyes melt my heart. I love how you look at Haiden and just smile. You are such a little character. I will never forget the day I thought we were going to lose you, it is indescribable as a mother to describe what that really felt like. I am so grateful God's plan were for you to be with us, and allow your daddy & I to raise you. I can't wait to see what you will grow up to be. Your daddy & I will always be here for you. We will guide you and love you no matter what life brings you. I hope for you a wonderful full-filled life. You have a great Daddy & big brother that are wonderful role models for you. I love you, Cole Austin.

Love, Mommy

Quick Update

2009-02-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

Well our prayers have been answered! Haiden actually has a boil, but now days they don't call it that, they still say staph infection. Now, there isn't such a huge panic in regards to the babies. Especially since it is not the MSRA. Thank Goodness! Over the weekend we kept putting the warm compresses on it, and finally Saturday night it popped. It broke my heart for Haiden because it was hurting him so bad, but after the pop so to speak, all of that area that was real hard and red, just came oozing out. I know TMI. He said it felt so much better, and I am sure he did since this infection was finally being able to escape his arm. We kept marking the area to make sure how much it was swelling and how far the red area was growing. Today it is still a little red, but it's not hard or really hot to the touch. It has continued to drain, so we are still taking all of the same precautions, but we are so glad he is feeling better. He will continue to be on the antibiotics for 7 more days. They just want to make sure no more pop up or it gets worse. Thank you to all who said a prayer for us.
Also I will be doing the Valentine Day post later, but Haiden getting better & continuing to protect everyone is more important right now.

Prayers Needed

2009-02-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

Our oldest son Haiden was just diagnosed with a staph infection. He woke up with a red sore on his arm. It looked like a small pimple in the middle, but was red and swollen and hot to the touch. They also said he has 2 other spots on his left thigh. They are very concerned with him, plus our other fear and worry is now protecting the quads. This is the same staph infection that Cooper had in the NICU (MSRA). As you moms of multiples know it can be deadly. We are doing everything possible to stop this from spreading to the babies or anyone else in our family. Our pedi has been back and forth on the phone with us all morning coming up with the best game plan possible to protect everyone. They have put Haiden on an antibiotic and nasal cream, as well as calling it in for all of us. They are still talking with Infectious Disease Control doctors to find out if the babies are to young for this preventive nasal medicine. So please pray they quickly get answers so we can protect the rest of our family. Haiden is also scared because he heard the dr. talking about everything thing that was going to have to go into protecting the babies, and it from getting worse with him. He is such a sweet and loving boy. He is always worried about everyone else and their feelings. I told him not to worry and have faith in the lord and that we will get through this. I have been washing everything with HOT water, scrubbing with BLEACH, and spraying everything with Lysol. My husband is also worried sick because one of our friend's dad passed away with this exact infection. So please pray for Haiden, the babies, Kennedy and all of the rest of us. I know that GOD is watching over and protecting us, but you realize how quickly something that looked like a small pimple can turn into something deadly. We could really use your prays.

This is what I always say when I start feeling worried and stressed.

"This to shall pass" & "I can do all things with Christ who strengthens me"

All about Ella

2009-02-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

Since February is a month that is all about love. I thought this would be the perfect time to blog about each person individually in our family. So I decided to start with Miss Ella Grace. She was the first born, and the gatekeeper during the 28wks and 5 day pregnancy. Little did we know she was going to be the smallest, yet the quickest to leave the NICU. You go girl. Plus she had to show her brothers who was still boss. I can remember the first time we were told I was pregnant, not even knowing at the time there were four lives growing inside me. My first thought was, I was pregnant with a girl at least one. The reason I say at least one, is because I had a gut feeling I was pregnant with more that one baby. OF, course quads never crossed my mind, but how blessed we are to have be chosen by God to be the parents of quads. Funny thing was she was the last baby we find out the gender for since she would never "show herself off" so to speak. That's the way to make your daddy proud. I remember just laying there while the technician kept trying and trying to find out her gender. Then Dr. Reiter came in to finish the ultrasound, and within one second says, baby A is a GIRL. I was so happy. One reason was because Haiden and Kennedy kept saying to us please let their be at least one boy and one girl. I was really starting to think Kennedy might not get her wish of having a baby sister, but as you know she did. It is so sweet to see those two together. Ella's face just lights up when Kennedy comes to hang out with her.

Let me back some: so we find out 1girl & 3boys. We had already had her name picked out. Actually her daddy named them all. Ella Grace, we thought was sweet, soft and an angelic name. Boy, we couldn't have picked a better name for her, because from day 1, that is exactly who she is. She never really moved much in my stomach, just enough usually to get comfy. We had a big scare with her very early on. I started bleeding pretty heavy at 12wks, I was taken straight to the ER, and had an ultrasound done, it showed Ella's placenta had a problem. Her placenta had not fully attached itself to the uterus, therefore a blood clot had formed between the wall and the placenta. Basically, two things would happen. It would dissolve, or it would completely tear off and we would lose her. Which would cause harm for the other babies, since she was at the bottom keeping everyone in. AKA:gatekeeper. Thankfully, within about 4 wks, the blood clot had dissolved, and everything progressed forward. There never was another problem with miss Ella during the pregnancy. She would always lay there and let them measure her during ultrasounds, and when I was put in the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy she would never get off the monitors once they found her heartbeat.

Then came delivery day, she was the first out, and I kept asking is it a girl? Are you sure she's a girl, they just laughed at me in the OR. My sweet husband, looked at me and said "yes babe, she is a girl, I saw for myself". I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on her, she was so tiny, but yet so perfect. I had not been there 2 seconds before she began to cry this was so heartbreaking to hear, because she was so tiny, and it took so much out of her. I just wanted to scoop her up and hold her to make it all better, and be a real mommy to her. But I new that was not the best thing for her. The nurses had made her a hat to wear, it was white with a big yellow bow on it, bless her heart, it was as big as she was.

She was the first to do everything in the NICU, except for being held, she was second in line, she just wasn't quite ready to have her line taken out of her umbilical cord, and that was the one thing that stopped us from holding any of them. They had to have that out first and their PICC line in. However set aside from that she was the first diaper I got to change (of course it was a poopy one), first to get off her C-PAP & moved to nasal cannula, never needed surfactant for her lungs, first to be put into real clothes, first to be moved down to level 2 (which they held off from doing so it would be easier on us with them in the same place for as long as possible), first one to take a bottle, first baby that someone (Popo) got to hold other than us, first one I got to nurse, first one to be moved to open crib, first one to lose her NG (feeding tube) & nasal cannula (except for feedings), first one to go home, until Cole got word of that and decided he was going with her.

I will never forget the first time I held her, she was so small, that they had to fold 6 blankets up to put under my arm, because she practically fall through your arms. The nurse placed her in my arms, and I remember thinking, is she really in my arms? She was so light, but that thought only lasted a second, because when I looked down at this tiny little baby, my heart just melted, and I remember thinking to myself, how beautiful she looked.

Once she arrived home, still being the smallest baby of them all, she was still so quiet and laid back. She was always the last one up, and you always had to wake her. Now miss thang is the first one up. She was the hardest baby in the world to burp, and of course she had to be burped because other wise, she would projectile vomit. Even burping her sometimes didn't stop the puke from flying out of her mouth.

She still is the hardest to burp, thank goodness she burps on her own, and man when she burps it is man size burps. I have no idea where she gets that from either. And yes, she still spits up, but just very small amounts. What changed the most about her when we got her home was she is the last now to do things. Last to push up, last to roll over, last to pull up to her knees, and now to a standing position. I guess she figures, since she has all these brothers who will be raised to be gentlemen (just like their daddy & big brother), she will always be getting the "ladies first" treatment. When they are all in their seats eating solids, she just sits there quietly waiting her turn, and smiles every time she looks at someone. She has done some of the funniest things too. She learned quickly how to spit, blow raspberries, sticks out her tongue (like a lizard), burp like

a boy. My favorite things she has started doing is she GROWLS!! It is hilarious, and if you know

her daddy you would know he loves music, well she has learned to shake it. Well more like rock it, she rocks back and forth, and just smiles and growls, when the music is playing. Such a cutie.

Something very unique about her, is she was born with very blue eyes, now she has one brown eye, and her right eye is half blue & half brown. She is so sweet and such a happy baby. And just like her big sister, she has her daddy wrapped around her finger.

One thing I don't want to forget is she is no longer the smallest, she is a little chunk. She is second in line for the heavy weight division at a whopping 16lbs 9oz, however she is the shortest one.

I wanted to make sure I included a letter to each person on their individual post. I will also post a letter to each child on their birthday, but I wanted to do a quick one here .

Dear Ella Grace,

From the moment I saw the little flicker of your heart beating on that screen, I fell in love with you. I didn't know any details about you yet, but one thing your Daddy & I knew was you were perfect. When we had that scare with your placenta, you taught me to keep my faith. And almost 17 wks later a tiny little 2lbs even came into this world. I have learned so much from you in such a short time, I can only imagine what else this world holds for you, and the lessons that we will learn as we watch you grow. You have the sweetest little girl voice that melts our hearts. You were the one that kept your brothers safe in the womb, and now it is Mommy & Daddy's turn to keep you safe. I love how you look into your daddy's eye and his heart melts. I love how you smile every time I look at you, and how you give the best wide open mouth kisses. I am so grateful that God chose me & your daddy for your parents. We are so lucky and truly blessed. As your mom, I will always be here for you. I will guide & support you, and be by your side know matter what.

I love you!

Pimp My Ride (runabout)

2009-02-05T06:50:00.000-08:00

I am so excited that we have finished decking out the runabout. I really hated that the seats were so hard, and they didn't have any cushion for their heads if they went to sleep, or any cushion really at all for that matter. So when we got our runabout (I bought a used one), I really wanted to make seat covers for it. Can I just tell you this is no easy task. So I had to call in reinforcement. Aunt Debbie & Nana, some of the sewers in the family came over one weekend and we built the pattern from scratch to make the seat covers. After 3 attempts and quite a few mess ups, we were successful. Well almost succesful, I had a couple more phone calls to some sewing girls to figure out how to make buttons holes for the straps to fit through, finally we were ready for take off on the first official seat cover. I am very proud to say that I actually cut out and sewed the 5 final seat covers. Now, it wouldn't be fair if I leave out the part where the bobbin messed up and I had to call Nana over at 10:30 PM to come help me. But after an hour of undoing the mess the bobbin left for me, I was back to sewing. Oh wait, I almost forget the part where Nana had to refill the bobbin, and then Aunt Debbie had to guide me through it the next morning to refill it AGAIN, you would think bobbin could hold more thread. But make no mistake I got these babies finished. Yes, I made 5 because I was just sure we could use an extra one. We made them super comfy, and easy to get on and off. I love the fact that all we have to do is through them into the wash, when they get dirty. At one point while I was making them, Jeremy called from work to see how things were going. He then says to me, "Babe why does that machine sounds like it is sewing so slow"? My Reply "Ah, HELLO that would be ME sewing that slow so I don't mess up"! His reply, "I knew you were a great seamstress, and these seat covers are going to be perfect! That's my man, always knows what to say, just at the right time. So here are a few pics of the seat covers, now if only I could put the babies in them, and take them for a walk, but not until this crazy weather gets warmer. Hope it will be soon.

I need BLOGGER HELP!

2009-01-14T14:10:00.001-08:00

First, let me start off by saying, I can't not believe in less than 3 months the quads will be 1!!!!! That is where you come in. I need ideas for their birthday party. There birthday is April 2, so is kind of starting to be spring time. Also I am super cheesy, so I really want to do something really cute. Even if I have to make stuff to match, so it will be personalized with their names. Just post a comment with your ideas. If you don't have a blog, you can still leave a comment. Just click on comment, and follow the steps. I really am excited to see what you all come up with. I also want to get a jump start on this.

Now for baby info, because I know that is what you are really wanting. We had their 9 mos check up. Yes, you heard me right 9 mos old already. Everyone was doing well. There was little concern for Casen. We have noticed that his legs and arms are turning blue, but the dr. thinks it is more a positional thing. (being in one position too long) But he is going to send him to a cardiologist, just to be on the safe side, so please add an extra pray in there for him. Cole didn't gain very much weight, so we will watch that as well. Ella & Cooper were doing great. Cole & Casen have been taken off the Prevacid for reflux, and have done fine. Ella & Cooper aren't quite ready yet. All though on New Year's Eve, we rang it in with ear infections, everyone except Cooper that is. So they were put on an antibiotic for that, and thankfully it's all cleared up. Now however, I am up to my elbows in poop, yes poop. ALL of the BOYS have diarrhea. We aren't sure if it is a virus, or from the antibiotic, but oh I am praying it will stop. I feel so sorry for the them. They just lay around lifeless. I am so thankful for footed pj's, because that is what is keeping it all in. I have changed more diapers, clothes, sheets, and bathed more babies in this last 5 days, than I have since they were born. Ok, maybe not that many, but it sures seems like it. I have no idea how Ella hasn't gotten it. Dr. Binder says since she is the only girl, she must be tougher than her brothers. I just continue to pray she doesn't get it.

Cole is army crawling like a mad man. He is still the only one with teeth, two to be exact. He is still very laid back, and always smiling. He makes the funniest faces. Kind of like an old man without any teeth. I know he only has 2 teeth, but still it is so funny. He is saying "Dada"

Ella is also army crawling. She can however sit up unassisted. She is trying so hard to get up in a sitting position by herself, but she just hasn't quite figured it out yet. She is trying also to pull up to her knees. She continues to stick out her tongue, so of course we are still calling her lizard. She just smiles. Ella too is saying "Dada", she has also learned to wave bye bye.

Cooper is half army crawling, and half crawling correctly. He is now pulling up to his knees on things. He is saying "Dada", I am sure you are starting to see a trend here with the 'Dada' word. Cooper too can sit unassisted. He is just a fingertip away from getting into a sitting position by himself.

And then there's Casen. O Casen, where do I begin? He is crawling, pulling up and standing, and now trying to walk around stuff while holding on. Like the couch is one of his favorite things to pull up on, and walk down it. He isn't going very far yet, but I am sure that is only a matter of time. He sits unassisted, and can get into a sitting position by himself. He is also able to drink from a sippy cup. He says "Dada", but this morning, and I do have witnesses, he said "mama"! He is such a mama's boy. He can also wave bye bye. He is very high maintenance, he seems to think he is an only child. Poor kid when he finally realizes he is not the only child, and that he has 5 other sibilings:)

Ok get out your creative ideas for a party, and send them our way. Can't wait to see what you all come up with.

COLE, COOPER CASEN what do you see?

2009-01-13T11:04:00.000-08:00

I see my brothers staring back at me. These lil' stinkers crack me up. Everytime, I go into their room to get them up from sleeping, this is what I see looking back at me. It cracks me up everytime. Always making me smile. Ella hasn't really done this, so that is why there isn't a picture of her. Must be a boy thing.

All I want for Christmas is my 2 bottom teeth

2009-01-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

That is exactly what Cole got. His bottom teeth are in. I couldn't believe it, we all thought Cooper would be first, but Colie surprised us. One tooth came in and then 2 days later his other bottom tooth was in. So now what is he up to? Funny you should ask, biting my finger of course! Here are pictures of his teeth.

1st Christmas

2008-12-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

I had been envisioning what this day was going to look like with all 6 kids. I was so excited because I am still so much like a child when it comes to Christmas. I love this time of year, especially Christmas morning. We had spent Christmas Eve with Jeremy's parents, sister, brother, and our nephew. The kids got so much stuff it was crazy, but again only interested in paper and bows. Except Casen, he was crawling on boxes.

I stopped today and realized that a year ago, I had just had the cerclage put in, and was resting and growing four sweet miracles, that we would be meeting in April. Of course we didn't know that then, but April 2, Cooper's placenta had had enough.

Christmas morning Haiden & Kennedy woke us up to tell us Santa had come to town, and they wanted to get the babies up. That is just what we did, little did the babies know that they would get more paper to eat. Just kidding! The big kids came down and saw what Santa had left for them, they were so excited, but what took my breath away was when the big kids left their toys and went over to the babies, and said "come on Ella, Cole, Cooper & Casen Santa left you all stuff too" they picked up the babies one by one and carried them to their presents, and began to play with them. Never even thinking about their toys, just wanting to play with their brothers & sister on Christmas morning. I always worried before they were born, if the older kids would be jealous, and still amazes me that they have never been jealous or resented the quads. They are such sweet children. All six of them! Shortly, the babies were getting fussy, and not very interested in their toys. So we laid them down and played with Haiden & Kennedy. It was a great morning. Auntie Ashley showed up to play with everyone, and shortly after Auntie Heather and Gavin came as well.

I got to cooking for Christmas lunch, since we were expecting more family. My Papaw & Gammy , Uncle Bubba & Aunt Sherri, Hunter, Luke, Uncle Mark, Auntie Heather, Gavin, Nonnie & Popo, Uncle Brian, Mamaw & Papaw, and more family all joined us for lunch. It was great. We decided to do a Mexican Fiesta instead of the traditional foods. It was a HIT! I attempted a new cheesecake recipe, and even though it was a 5 hour ordeal, and a mess in Ashley's oven, it was the BEST cheesecake ever. Thank you Mimi for the recipe.

Of course with more family came more presents, and again same story eating paper & bows, and climbing on packages. Poor babies, they were soooo overwhelmed. They got to spend time with their great grandparents, which is always so special since Papaw is 85!

After such a wonderful day with family, we were all in bed by 9pm. We have been so blessed, and I thank GOD everyday for such a wonderful life full of such blessings and joy!

It was just way to much for Cole to take:)

The Stockings were hung

2008-12-24T17:45:00.000-08:00

Here is what a chimney looks like with 8 stockings hanging from it. I was really glad I could fit them all on it. A big thank you goes out to Mamaw for making each and everyone of our stockings. We have had ours, but she managed to complete all four babies in time for Santa Claus to drop a special something in them.

Candy Cane Anyone?

2008-12-24T13:06:00.000-08:00

Nana bought the cutest Christmas pj's for the babies. They looked like a bunch of candy canes. We went to Nonnie & Popo's for Christmas Eve to open presents. The kids were so cute, all they wanted to do was eat the tissue paper or bows. Except Casen, he has learned how to pull up on everything. Mr. Climber was always wanting to climb on the boxes or pull up on them. Now, granted he has absolutely no idea how to get down. He looks like a pole falling, no bending, just straight back. I feel myself always holding my breath, just praying he doesn't hit his head or break something. I can't ever seem to catch him in time. What a stinker. After Nana brought over the pj's we got them dressed for bed, and laid them down in hopes of St. Nick would soon arrive. But before he could arrive Cooper, Ella & Casen wanted to check out the lights on Nonnie's tree. They sure wanted to get them to there mouth. After we did finally get them toi bed, Nonnie, Auntie Heather and I got to making the enchiladas for Christmas Dinner.

1st Christmas Party

2008-12-19T09:50:00.000-08:00

Casen kissing Nonnie

Kennedy posing for the camera

Cole "all smiles"

The babies went to their first Christmas party. My Aunt Debbie always has Christmas Eve at her house, but since a lot of us have little ones, we have moved it to a Saturday in December. It is always a fun time with family, and lots of yummy foods, (boiled shrimp my favorite). I was a little nervous about how the babies would act since their bedtime is 6pm. To my surprise they were perfect little angels. In fact, several family members commented on how good they were. One funny memory of the night was when Ella, Cooper & Cole got their first taste of a sour pickle. They loved it, in fact Cooper liked to have ripped his Nana's hand off to eat the whole thing. She had to call in reinforcement to help her. We laughed forever at Coop. Ella and Cole made the funniest faces, but of course wanted more. When we were opening presents all they wanted to do was eat the wrapping paper, that was really all they were interested in. Jeremy's family joined us this year, and it was wonderful to have them there. As the night came to an end, we decided to change them into their pj's for the ride home, and of course they went right to sleep. We took them straight from the car to bed, and viola.... they slept through the night. It'll be interesting to see the difference next year, being a year older.

Cooper with Hazel

Casen and his Uncle Mark

Cole with Auntie Heather

Cole getting a taste of a pickle

Ella tasting a pickle

TEXAS SNOW down by the GULF!!!!!!!!

2008-12-10T19:58:00.000-08:00

You know what they say about Texas weather. "Stand there 5 minutes and the weather is sure to change. That is exactly what happened today. Yesterday, the weather was 75 degrees down here in Galveston, but today it is 39 degrees. Then the unthinkable happens tonight

IT SNOWED!!!!!!!!!

Some of you reading may be thinking to yourselves big deal it snowed, but what you don't understand is it hardly EVER snows in TEXAS. I tried to wake Haiden, but he was quick to remind me that he has seen snow before, and was going back to bed. So off to get Kennedy up, because of course there was NO WAY I would wake the quads. And Jeremy was working nights, so off to get Kennedy. She was such a good sport, she and I played in the snow for about an hour. Then Nana came over to join in the fun. They ended up having a snowball fight. Yep, enough snow for a snowball. Cooper did wake up, so I took him to the door and let him watch the snow falling, he quickly saw it, and just stared at the falling snowflakes. I got it on video.

On another note, everyone is officially steamrollers except Cole. Cole is so laid back he is just not worried about getting anywhere in a hurry. Everyone is also up on all fours. Cooper, Cole, & Casen are all doing the inchworm or Army crawl. Ella can go, but she is not all about fighting with those stinking boys. I guess she figures she did that long enough in the womb. No teeth, just drooling babies, and wanting to chew on everything. Casen is however, almost able to push himself up from his belly to a sitting position. No one is sitting by themselves yet. Now with everyone OFFICIALLY MOBILE, let the gate placing begin. :) Even though they are getting around no one is messing with the tree or the presents, not this year anyway. They are very fascinated by the lights on the tree.

Cole is also shaking his head "no no". It is so cute. Ella is still doing the lizard tongue. Cooper has a new trick when you put him into his bed, he pulls down the bumper pads so he can see out, it is hilarious to watch. Casen must have seen him do this because he too has started it, but the difference with Casen is, he screams and yells when you are walking out of the room. Almost as if he is saying "duh, I am watching you leave us here, and apparently you are ignoring my screams." Yes, I am ignoring his screams.

I still have two thumb suckers, Ella and Cole. Cole now takes his blanket and wraps it around his hand before he sucks his thumb. They are only sucking it when they are going to sleep. Here is some pics for you to enjoy.

Iron Chef America

2008-12-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

That's right, you read it right, we had Iron Chef America, Perez Quad Style, live in my kitchen on the day of Thanksgiving. How, you might ask, well let me tell you. Jeremy had to work nights on Thanksgiving, so he went to lay down around 10am, right after we had fed the babies. I on the other hand, had a lot of cooking to do to get ready to go over to Nonnie & Popo's for dinner. If you don't already know Haiden loves to cook, and watches cooking shows. Well when I am cooking he always wants to help, no biggy right? Also I should mention Kennedy is starting to want to help. This is where Iron Chef comes into play. The babies decided they were not going to hang out and play in the floor, there was just too much action going on in the kitchen, so I thought "OK I can do this, get them, put them in bumbo chairs on the counter and just keep cooking. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First of all, I now have ALL 6 kids in the kitchen wanting to help, and I am attempting to make Pecan Pie, Broccoli & cheese casserole, corn casserole, and chocolate delight (which let me inform you I have done a million times) but, with all my help somehow I couldn't even read the recipe to even begin the pecan pie, much less any of the other dishes. At this point the phone was ringing, babies yelling, big kids wanting to know when the cooking is going to start, and Daddy upstairs asleep, OH yes and dinner time was just a few hours away. It's funny when I watch Iron Chef none of this is ever going on, so I figure it only happens when you in the kitchen of Perez Party of 8. I decided to give the babies big spoons and spatulas to bang around, and the big kids pecans to start chopping, and me, well I just kept rereading the recipe and laughing. I at this point turn to everyone and say "O man I sure hope I am getting all the correct ingredients in each of these dishes, if not oh well, who else gets to have Iron Chef America live in their kitchen"

Needless to say, it all worked out, and everything was cooked and I even had time to change clothes and put a little make up on. All though I was seriously thinking that the ingredients on my face, may just have to pass for make up. Just kidding, I looked presentable for Thanksgiving. We had a great time cooking, and pretending we were:

LIVE, on IRON CHEF AMERICA

Now the real question is, can you tell who was Emeril, Bobby Flay, Rachel Ray, Paula Deen, Guy Fieri, or Sandra Lee?

1st Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

Please tell me where has the time gone. I am sitting here not even believing that the babies are now 8 mos old TODAY. Who would have thought, that time would have flown by so fast? The last 8 mos have been the most exciting and sometimes trying times I think I have ever experienced, as side from Haidens years of headaches and brain surgeries. But as a great friend shared the scripture with me (that I now live by) " I can do all things with Christ who strengthens me" Boy, I am ever so glad she said that to me one day. I rely on it lots.

Now about the babies~~~ They are doing awesome! They have had there flu shots, 2 rounds of RSV (synagins) shots, and still happy healthy babies. We have been blessed in that area. Of course, I hope I didn't just jinx myself;)

Ella-OR Priss Ella or Lizard as we call her around here now. She is now smiling with her tongue pointed out like a lizard. She has now learned to blow raspberries when she eats, roll over both ways, gives kisses ( mouth wide open of course), and rocking back and forth on her knees. She is up to 15 lbs.

Cole- or Colie Olio is doing great as well. His smile will melt your heart for sure. He is jumping like a mad man in the jumparoo, he has finally quite scooting backwards and now gets on his knees and kind of hops forward. It is too funny. He also has this new thing where if you don't put his bottle in his mouth fast enough, he starts thrusting his pelvis up and down. If you remember he was the one in the NICU that would smile with his Elvis lip.

Cooper - or Coopie, Coops, toupie or cooper the trooper-is the official STEAM ROLLER, he rolls both ways as fast as lighting, he amazes us, He has just this week started getting up on his hands and knees and rocking. I think he figures why learn to crawl when you can roll where you need to go. I must say he has gotten better at eating, he doesn't think he has to stand on his head anymore to eat. Not sure what that was ever about. He is still the biggest, weighing in at 17 lbs. And to think, he almost did make it. He never ceases to amaze us.

Casen- or Tasen, mama's baby - Yes he is for sure a Mommy's boy. He figures he is the baby, and he wants everyone else to know that too. He is trying to push himself up from his tummy to a sitting position. He is about half way there. He is also on hands and knees, except he gets on hands and toes and then hops. Bless his heart, he keeps bumping his forehead every time he lands. He is the official RASPBERRY blower, but of course not until his mouth is full of food. I think I ought to go into business for myself, making food splattered clothing. I am sure you moms can appreciate that. Hey, at least we would already be in dress code for feeding babies. Ok, Ok, I am just kidding.

Before I forget to mention, they have offically started fighting over toys. I can only imagine what it will be like when they are totally mobile.

We all celebrated Thanksgiving at Jeremy's parents house with his family. Nana, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Mark, Auntie Ashley & Kelly, and Auntie Chelsea also joined us. It was great! We had good food, good times, and great memories. The babies hung out in there exersaucers and then went down for a nap. We did manage to get a family photo that day.

We had our first professional family photo shoot on Sunday, I will hopefully get to see some proofs and post them soon. Big huge "thank yous" go out to Popo, Nonnie, Auntie Heather, Gavin and Nana for helping us make that day as successful as possible. They say it takes a village to raise a child, so I am thinking it takes an ARMY to raise multiples. Or at least get them to and trough a photo shoot! Here are some pics for you to enjoy of our first Thanksgiving since the quads have been born.

Giving THANKS

2008-11-25T13:40:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it will already be Thanksgiving. This is the time of year that we are to give thanks. So that is just what I plan on doing. First of all, I am so thankful for my family and friends, and if you know me I am not going to be that broad. I have to do some individual "thanks". I won't do an individual on everyone, but there are a few people that I need to thank personally.

To my husband & my world- I can't believe sometimes you chose me, to be your wife. I am one lucky girl. I am so thankful for all you do for me & our family. You are such a wonderful man and the best DADDY I know. I couldn't ask for more. This year has really been very interesting, and I am so glad I had you by my side for it all. I love you!

Haiden, Kennedy, Ella, Cole, Cooper & Casen- I am so thankful God chose me to be your mommy. I love you all so much. I hope someday you will get to be parents, and experience the same joy I have in raising such wonderful children. You have taught me patience, faith, happiness, trust, & most of all unconditional love.

To Nonnie & Popo-I could not ever thank you enough for all you have done for us. Not only this year, but all the time. You are such WONDERFUL & GENEROUS people. Jeremy and I will never be able to repay you two for all you have done. There aren't many people that would take on 6 kids at once all by themselves. My family & I are so lucky to have you in our lives as parents & grandparents. Nonnie, I am not going to know what to do when we don;t have to feed babies every morning at 6am, somehow I think we may be lost for a while. Popo, thank you for all the help with all the feedings & watching Haiden & Kennedy or the babies for us.

To Papa T & Nana- I am so thankful for you Nana in more ways than one. I can't think of one person that would sleep EVERY NIGHT for 3 MOS on my couch to help feed babies AROUND the clock, and then have to get up and go to work. Also thank you for the EXTRA times you have fed & watched the babies, so I could get stuff done. I am not sure there is another person that could get Cooper to eat the way you have. You truly are a very special person to me & my family. To you as well, what will we do at 6am, when the babies don;t have to be fed anymore that early. Although sleeping isn't such a bad idea. Dad, thank you for every meal you prepared for us during the pregnancy and after the babies where born. I don;t know what we would have done without you. Also thank you for giving up your time in the mornings to allow me to take Haiden & Kennedy to school everyday. It means so much to them, as well as it does me.

Papaw Martin & Mamaw- Mom, thank you for coming and staying a month with the kids & me in the hospital, when I was put on bed rest in the hospital, and taking care of Haiden & Kennedy, the house, Jeremy and me. I know that was a long time to have to be away from home, we are so grateful for it. It was such a huge relief knowing I didn't have to worry about things at home or Haiden & Kennedy. Thank you for also staying and taking me back and forth to the NICU. Papaw, thank you for sharing your wife with us for such a long period of time. I can only imagine how much you missed her while she was gone.

Papaw Fuller & Grammy- Thank you for the BIG HUGE expedition. I can't tell you how great it is to know that we can all go somewhere as a family in one vehicle. Also thank you for all of the clothes, and many other things you have done for us. I could never repay you. You are the best grandparents & great-grandparents anyone could ever ask for. I love you more than you will ever know.

Ashley- Thank you for always being there. From day one of the pregnancy you were a savior, and staying with me in the hospital, and bringing me La Madeline LOL Thank you for giving up your time with Kelly to spend night after night with me and sleeping in a recliner to help feed babies around the clock, and then having to work all day. Not to mention all of the other feedings you have been her for. Also thank you for being the best sister and Aunt a person could ever ask for. I am not sure there are words to describe it, I can only hope I will be able to repay you someday.

Heather-Thank you for always being there for our family. Your the best auntie & sister a person could ever ask for. I don't many people that would give up their lunch time EVERYDAY for months to feed babies (and go back to work smelling of vomit), and give up nights and weekends to help with the babies. You will always hold a special place in our hearts. ( I am just saying) LOL I had to throw something funny in there, because I know how much you DON:T DO mushy. :)

Tammie, Christie & Kendra-thank you for the wonderful friendship we all share. I am one lucky girl. Also thank you so much for everything you all did during and after the pregnancy. Even giving up that BIG BONUS to be with me as I gave birth to the babies, even if it did call for margaritas at Pappasitos. Giving up your time with your own family to help out with mine. It's priceless. Thank you for all of the summer feedings and meals you prepared. I am not sure I could ever repay you all. I know there are a hundred other thank yous, but I wanted to list a few. I love you.

Nauntie-Thank you for staying with me in the hospital, and helping out with the babies when they came home from the hospital. We couldn't have done it without you. Also thank you for always being there for me, you have taught me a lot of life lessons, that I value greatly.

Aunt Debbie-You ROCK!!. Thank for you all the help with dinner, the house, babies, staying with us, watching the babies for me and our weekly visits. You are wonderful. I am so glad I have the chance to become so much closer to you. I love you Martha Sr. HAHA

Kohfeldt Faculty & Staff- thank you for the support during and after the pregnancy. The meals you delivered to our family were a huge blessing, and appreciated more than you realize. Also thank you so much for the diapers you give us weekly. I can't tell you how much it means to us.
Nana Shelia- Our ANGEL, we love you. I never thought I would have someone to keep the babies & feed them all by themselves. It's a big job, and I am so glad we have you who is willing to volunteer to do it. I love watching how the babies light up when they see you. We could never repay you.

This is certainly not all you have all done for us, but I really wanted to take time to say Thank You especially since the QUADS have been born & the season of "giving thanks".

PS: I know these pics are old, but I love them and wanted to post them.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING