Aiden is now saying tons of words, but his current favorite is “no”. Aiden do you want to go night night? No. Aiden do you need a diaper change? No. Aiden do you stink? No. Aiden are you ready to get up? No. Aiden come here so I can change your diaper. No. Aiden…. No. This is our constant conversation with Aiden. We’re working on not telling Momma and Daddy no, but so far that isn’t doing much good. Just be consistent is what I tell myself. Now that it’s HOT outside we’re able to enjoy the play area outside more and Aiden enjoys going down the slide and playing in the house we have. He really like pointing out birds, and ducks when we go on choo choo rides too! He was recently evaluated for speech therapy and it was decided that he does not qualify since he is speaking so much. His favorite characters are still Tigger and Pooh, but he’s having a lot of fun learning what things are. Aiden is still throwing fits and screaming when something doesn’t go his way. He also freaks out when someone comes near him and he thinks they’re trying to steal something. He does ok with the spoon and fork, but we haven’t mastered it yet. We’re just going with the flow, and not stressing out since sippy cups stressed me out so much I’ve learned to just let them go at their own pace. hopefully before college they’ll get it. Aiden has developed a love for Cattie which is causing some problems because we all know who goes into full meltdown mode if Cattie isn’t around.
Max is still the mischievous one, and not only is he the one that looks like he should always be in trouble he has started aggravating everyone. He sits on top of Alexis, steals her paci, steals her Cattie, and laughs while she screams. He steals whatever Carolyn has and giggles as he runs away. He does the same to Aiden, but has to work harder to get whatever Aiden has because Aiden holds on to everything so tightly. Max did qualify for speech therapy since he doesn’t vocalize much. He understands what you want from him fairly quickly so the therapist thinks it should be easy to get him speaking. We think it is more his personality because he is the shyest and most quiet. I think he just doesn’t want to talk, and being a quiet person myself I can understand that. He’s still a momma’s boy, but is doing much better with Andy. He now runs to him to play a lot. Max is always cracking himself up about something, and usually when he is upset it isn’t for long. The biggest challenges we have with him are his aggravating everyone, and that he lashes out at the others when he his mad or getting in trouble. We’re working on those areas the strongest. He is very sweet though and when he isn’t up to mischief he will get everyone their cup or favorite toy to help calm the individual down.
Alexis is still the little momma hen. She enjoys telling the others to “shh” and getting on them when they do something they aren’t supposed to. Usually it’s just a “NO NO NO” from her when they are messing with her cattie. Aiden will get her cattie and she will scream because there are two catties but she knows exactly which is the first and original cattie. She does NOT share the original Cattie, but is happy to have Aiden take the dupe. She did not qualify for speech since she is talking more than Carolyn, but less than Aiden. She “talks” a lot so her vocalization isn’t a problem. She copies what we say very well too, and we’ve been working lately on what the different animals do. Her current favorites are the cow and crocodile. She does not like the water much, but loves going down the slides outside. She is still a very big cuddle bug, and loves for someone to read to her while she sits in their lap. Everyone’s favorite book is currently The Wheels On The Bus. She also loves to dance to the Mickey Mouse club house song Hot Dog.
Carolyn is fearless now that her tubes are in. She hasn’t lost the wild streak that she developed since they went in. I was hoping it was a phase, but so far she is still standing up and climbing on everything she can so she can say “TADA!”. She is saying more words, but qualifies for speech therapy since she doesn’t really vocalize as well as Aiden and Alexis. She is probably more delayed just because she had so many ear infections and was constantly hearing muffled talking instead of clear voices. She is doing really well and has been gaining weight and really growing these past few months. She is still the smallest, but that is OK! She loves giving hugs, and will throw her arms wide to run to you for a hug. She is working on saying cheese when I take her picture, but she ends up scrunching her entire face up so it’s less of a smile and more of a crazy look. 
It is still adorable though so I usually end up laughing instead of taking her picture. She is doing really well with saying Hi and bye and waving when she says it. I’ve noticed Carolyn really loves wearing dresses and will just seem more excited when she is getting dressed.
Last month I had surgery to repair my abs and remove the excess skin. It was technically a tummy tuck, but the doctor called it something else. I can’t remember what he called it. That was a very hard recovery and I’m 5 weeks out from the surgery feeling much better, but still in pain from doing things I shouldn’t. Like pick up babies. Andy’s mom came to help us while I was on leave and it was such a relief knowing someone was here to help. Words cannot express how thankful I am to her for always being here when we need her and being a shoulder to lean on. Thank you and we love you!!!
