There is a cabin fever epidemic in our household. We are quite thankful that Spring is upon us because we cannot wait to get outdoors!
We tried to make it outside throughout the winter, but the quints’ affinity for snow and cold varies on a wide spectrum. Ellie Rose took on Frosty and loves to galavant through the snow; she anchors the scale at the “love for snow” end point. Mr. Theo dislikes all that snow has to offer; thus anchoring the other end of the spectrum. Kali Mae is our mid-point; She enjoys sitting amidst the drifts catching snowflakes and munching on a snowball. Lily and Bella are a bit more free-spirited and can tolerate it for a bit, but then quickly want to go indoors. Needless to say, our snow experiences typically last about 20-25 minutes, or half of the amount of time it takes to prepare.
How we are treating cabin fever and getting our crazies out…
Everyone, however, loves to be outdoors when it’s warm. We trekked to the park in our neighborhood the other day for the first time. It was very cool to watch our 29-weekers climb the play structure with ease, run around the park, swing on the swings, and best of all get dirty! The V5 are not, typically, fond of getting messy. If they have a drop of water- fondly known as a Dibble-dop – on their clothes, they demand a new outfit. But, when we left the park, everyone had dirty hands and mud stains; it was a true milestone! We look forward to many more mud pies and grass stains in the future.
V5 in their Spring Gear
The quints also made their first appearance at Sunday School last week and loved it. They learned a new song, made new friends and didn’t shed a tear. We are very excited to watch them grow in their social skills, as well as, learn about God’s love. They were also very excited to get dressed to go to church!
The V5 in their Sunday Best
We (Dad, Mom and Nana B) continue to try our best to stay a step ahead of our crew physically and mentally. It is evident that our bunch needs consistent challenges that stimulate them intellectually and outlets to get their crazies out physically. We welcome suggestions for challenging the V5. Right now, we are:
- Reading like book worms
- Practicing writing our names, numbers and shapes
- Singing songs
- Learning our ABC’s and 123’s
- Building towers and puzzles
Theo reading the “Dot Book” to Lily
We plan to start:
- Practicing with scissors and making more necklaces to improve fine motor skills,
- Gardening to foster a love for getting dirty, and
- Getting out and about to increase opportunities for social interaction.
With a mouth full of choppers they enjoyed the feast, along with cherished family memories and their own rendition of football.
Trying to stay as calm as I could, I called 911 and our local Fire Department and paramedics were at our home in minutes. They asked upon entry if I needed to call any parents of the kids I was caring for (thinking they had walked into a home daycare); I kindly told them they were all mine. The other four behaved wondrously as we took care of Lily. Once Nana B arrived, Lily and I were off to the E.R. where Daddy met us. After one night’s stay and a big-dog antibiotic regimen, Lily is on the mend.
Fuel to Flourish™ 