THE CUTEST PICTURES EVER!

Thanks to our local mom's of multiple's group fundraiser I have these precious pictures of the kids now!:) Antiquities photography came and did them for our group. They turned out pretty good considering the kids had to wait forever (while dressed in these cute but not-exactly-comfy-running-up-and-down-the-hall outfits). By the time it was our turn Ben had had enough! Amazingly there were a few pictures taken of him NOT screaming bloody murder. STILL cute pictures!
ENJOY!:)

Jenny

PS. Any of you MOM's goups out there looking for a good fundraiser for your group I would suggest calling Antiquities. They did a great job and our group made a good amount of money doing it.

Fun On The Fourth With Family and Friends. (Mostly pictures!)

We had a GREAT 4th of July weekend. We were able to spend the weekend with my dad's side of the family in Kentucky. We haven't seen them since Christmas so it was great for everyone to see how much the kids have grown in the last 6 months. Every road trip we take makes me more thankful that we started traveling with the kids at a very young age (about 4.5 months 2.5 months adjusted). They are great in the van (sometimes we do have our moments of rolling down the windows to drown out the noise for a few minutes, but for the most part they are little traveling pros.)

My sister turned 24 on the 4th (which is still hard to believe my lil sis is 24!) and she called and we were all able to chat with her and wish her a happy birthday:) I can't wait until she comes home!
Some other highlights of our trip: visiting with family that we don't see enough, eating yummy food, watching the kids play together at my aunt and uncle's new store, Ben's pooptastrophy followed by a pee fest (These are obviously NEGATIVE highlights! but will be remembered regardless). Don't worry I'm not posting picks of the poo mess. But if I had smell-ernet on here i would SO make you "enjoy" it as much as I HAD to while cleaning him and everything he slept on up. HA! JK.
Anyway. We had a fun trip and when we got back in town we changed clothes grabbed a snack and headed to a 1st birthday for Kaden, my friend Jenny's son. (I have known her LITERALLY for 27 yrs so, it's so neat to be able to be together for our children's events. It was fun to be with her family--my pseudo family:) But after a couple presents had been opened the kids were ready for their beds! Boy did they sleep well that night! AH....there really is NOTHING like sleeping in your own bed!
The kids are 23 months today! Meaning only 1 month until the big 2! HARD to believe! I have some cute pictures I took today for a post later this week. Stay tuned!:) BTW Anna pee peed in the potty today on her own --we aren't even potty training yet but I was just SO excited! Maybe soon:)
Now sit back and enjoy the (MANY) pictures!

Jenny

The boys waiting for breakfast in their "little man cave".

Yes this WAS a family cookout get together and my sweet children decided to make it into half naked playground. It was too funny to watch one by one they would realize that a brother or sister was getting undressed so....monkey see monkey do right?:)

Benjamin, Allie, Baron and Anna waiting to get out of the house.

Cousin Luke, Ben and Great Uncle David.

Mamaw (my grandma) and her sister Marlyn always in the kitchen taking care of us! THANK YOU! We love you!

Mimi couldn't resist spoiling the kids a little bit. She bought a couple strollers. Which were a BLAST for all 4 kids to push around--only problem 4 kids, 2 strollers what do you think happened next?

Cute little girly feet.

Unfortunately this was the best we could do for a group picture on the 4th. They were TOO busy and full of energy to hold still for a second! At least they looked cute doing it:)

Cousin Luke was SO entertaining to the kids. Everyone needs a Luke in their house for entertainment!

My sweet girls not looking so sweet. Always wanting to sit in the same chair at the same time.

Great Uncle Matt was being sneaky and trying to scare the kids through the mail slot. It was definitely funny (guess ya had to be there...)

Old Papaw and his buddy Bear bear.

Mimi and her grandbabies.

Bennerboo will melt yoooouuuu:)

Daddy and his Allie.

Great Uncle Matt and Baron (he's such a lap hopper).

Stretching time at a rest stop on the way. Just watch out for the stinky piles! EWW!

Benjamin

Up close and personal with Allie:)

Anna becoming a very sneaky sneaky undresser. They're growing up SO fast!

My mom's parents came in town last week and we got to visit a little with them. We love you Nana and Pa!

Pa and baron.

Ok can I just tell you HOW much I love these new REUSABLE swim diapers I bought at Babies R Us. They are saving us from wasting SO many regular diapers and we don't have to buy the expensive swimmers. DEFINITELY a must have!

Love these boys!

WEEEEEE!!!!:)

Mimi accidentally bought pudding with sugar in it and before we knew it they were all running around like MaNiAcS!!! It was HILARIOUS and cute! I will try and upload a video in my next post.

SUGAR HIGH!

Delirious AND sugar filled! Funny combo!

Ben LOVE to make forts--anything he can get in/under/behind/or hide in.

My sweet Allie Grace.

Sleepy Bear

At Kaden's birthday party. Waiting for cake:)

See they CAN share a chair.

Daddy and his peanut.

Big Jenny (I was called Little Jenny because I'm a year younger) lighting Kaden's #1 candle (yes she's pregnant again with a little girl---due in Nov YAY!:):)

"No, It's Burkett NOT Bucket!"

(Yes we have been called the Buckets before. HA! I guess there are worse things to be called right?)

So now that I've broken the ice......sorry I've been a slacking blogger lately. We've been Uber busy and sometimes my creative juices are all used up by the end of the day when I finally have time to blog.
What have we been up to you may ask well I'll give you some picture proof below. On a DAILY basis I catch myself thinking "WOW, I have 4 kids....and not only that they're about to be 2 next month!!" Sheer craziness. I know Suz would agree with me that the time has FLOWN! (her CUTE quaddies are only a week older than ours.) The kids are at such a fun stage (and very difficult at times). They are SO into playing with each other (and sometimes fighting), they LOVE giving hugs and kisses to each other (and sometimes biting), but most of all they have a way of brightening up any room, anytime and I love that.
I'm super tired right now so you'll just have to deal with more pictures and less words:).

Have a GREAT & Safe holiday weekend!

Jenny

Yes we wear capes in our house. We LOVE to dress up. It's a hoot!

My heartbreakin-smile makin Handsome boys!

Anna looking like Such a big girl...seriously she's going to catch up to me in height soon if she doesn't slow down.

Can you say D-I-V-A? She loves sunglasses and walked around the house in these forever the other day (but would she wear them outside? umm NO.)

I got a MUCH needed night out with my best girlies here in town. Heather, Maria, Melanie, & Melissa. LOVE you girls. (fact--there are 13 kids 6 yrs and under between the 5 of us. yes we have our hands full and we've been busy:))

The kisses I talked about earlier. Seriously how can this not melt your heart?

9 of the 13 (Only 1 less than the Octomom! EEK! I can't even imagine!)

WARNING

These next few pictures may make your head explode because of the cuteness:)hehe
Our Mom's of Multiple's club did a picture fundraiser and we went and had some shots done. I can't wait to see how they turned out. These are just a few we snapped in the hall while waiting our turn. They pictures will be in black and white with splashes of red in them. Very cool looking:)

Anna being so patient and SO beautiful!

Me and my baby girls.

Little tuxes just kill me. SO cute! (although Bear looks like sloppy groomsman here. :)

Ben ben

Princess Allie.

This was the best group shot we got while waiting. There was too much going on to get them to slow down for a minute for a picture.

During these HORRIBLY hot summer days lately....we've been working on staying hydrated! (YES to all you sunscreen nazis out there they have on Neutragena Waterproof SPF 70 ---which i love by the way. I don't know what I would do without that spray can of sunscreen. It's the best!)

Chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool.....

Yes this was noisy but fun:)

Not long after this picture was taken I had 4 very, very sleepy kids. I like how much playing outside and swimming wears them out. Makes for a good nap....ahhh.

Kim--this picture is for you since you're at 26 weeks. I was there 2 yrs ago today! (I was measuring like I was 42 weeks pregnant here! And I still made it 5 more weeks! YOU CAN DO IT KIM!!!)

And this was the kids last year this time. I will never forget 4th of July weekend 2008 (one because it was my sis's last birthday here before moving to Germany, and secondly the kids ALL held their OWN bottles for the entire feeding for the first time! I had been praying for that day to come and it truly was Independence weekend!:)

No Ifs, Ands or......

..BUTTS about it...

...we have THE BEST DADDY EVER!!!!

We love to go for walks with him....

We love when he reads with us.

We love to make pictures for him.

How many other daddies will be as fun and silly as ours?

We also LOVE how much he loves our mommy!

And how he's always there to make us feel better.

Happy Father's Day daddy!

WE LOVE YOU!
Benjamin, Allie, Anna, & Baron



ALSO happy (Grand) Father's Day to Papaw

And although this is the first Father's Day without our Grumpus, we're still thinking about him and love him! We miss you.

22 months old is a zoo!

A few weekends ago (yes sorry it's taken me a while to update--life happens!) Brian and I decided to brave the local zoo with the kids for the first time. Now when I say brave the zoo, it has nothing to do with taking the kids out in public or anything like that. My only concern with our zoo is the GARGANTUAN hill at the exit. It's not really even steep, but it's just so long that by the middle of it, (while pushing the quads in the stroller that = 160lbs), your muscles are BURNING to say the least!!!!!
We survived and had a good time. I know the kids will enjoy it more each time we go. Some animals are still hard for them to see from their stroller, but this momma isn't ready to de-stroller them yet.

Daddy with the crew keeping hydrated.

I PROMISE you this beautiful tiger was sizing up my kids as his next snack. I think they kids were really into the tiger since he came so close. I think I remember one of them pointing and saying "cat", umm....yes kids but NOT exactly like our cat:) They were so cute just looking around at everything. But really the zoo could have had just dogs and ducks and they would have been just as happy:)

That zoo's got nuttin' on us.

Check out our "wildlife" lineup....

Benjamin, Allie, Anna, and Baron

Anna- Don't let those big beautiful eyes fool you....

she's a sneaky one. If you ever find yourself missing something....check with this one. She is quite the hunter and gatherer. (As seen here, she's smuggling away some bunnies for later.)

She's also very busy. Already walking around talking on her "cell phone" all day:) (too cute!)

Benjamin-don't stare too long at this one's eyes....

...he has a way of turning you to mush! Just look at that face! You can not resist! ("Resistance is futile"...hah -if you know what that quote is from welcome to the dork club!:))

He is also has a swift hand as seen below. Before his brother could even bat an eye, Ben's hand was partaking of Baron's snack.

Speaking of snack time.....these little creatures are growing like weeds and are therefore eating and eating and eating. It is quite amazing how much they can put away right now!

Allie-quite the chameleon this one is....many faces...many moods.

This is one of her signature looks. Smiling eyes, smiling cheeks while sucking her thumb usually with some type of head adornment.

Head adornment or defensive tactic? you decide:)

Baron-with one bat of these eye lashes and a smile you won't stand a chance.

Try and run. He'll catch you with his super fast (giggling/laughing the whole time) run.

And then if that's not enough to get you. He'll deafen you with his numerous squealing sound effects.

Ok, ok....enough of the silliness. Here are a few more pictures of the kids. I'm working on a post with some crazy adventures for next week. So stayed tuned!:)

Have a GREAT weekend!
Jenny

"So what were those words to that silly round and round song again?"....
"I don't know... but maybe if we stand here long enough while mom takes our picture she'll let us have a popsicle!"

Happy 22 months!!! (CAN NOT believe they are almost 2!)

Daddy reading one of our favorite books (at the moment). It's all about going on the potty. Yes we are talking/reading about it already. Can't hurt right?

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

My BEAUTIFUL girls = future heart breakers!

Some Favorite Pictures From May (Yes there are a BUNCH!)

May 2009

This post is all pictures. I realized that I had SO many cute pictures to put up from the last few weeks that I couldn't decide which ones to use; therefore I posted most of them....(no one has a problem with that right?) :)
I hope you enjoy seeing what we've been up to. This is going to be a GREAT summer!

Have a Great weekend!

Jenny

This week we played with some of our very best friends and it just so happened to be my birthday. I was surprised with some yummy cookies! All of the kids were beyond excited! (Thanks Melanie, Heather and Melissa!)

The "big" kids stuffing their faces with cookie.

Anna and Ben devouring the yummy goodness.

Allie and Baron --Looks like he was about to lapse into a sugar coma:) hah.

Messy Ben--ha--meen.

Anna and her "boyfriend" Gabe D. (Although....I did see him with his arm around Allie too...rotten!:))

"Blue 42...Blue 42....Hike" one of our future football players--Bear.

Baron joining in with the "big" boys. And scaring the poop out of mommy the whole time!

3 of my favorite girls (We've all been friends since middle school!)--Heather (with her littlest Regan), Melanie (with her littlest Luke) and Melissa (with her littlest in utero:):))

Allie Grace

Grandma and Allie

This is what Ben does the ENTIRE time he is in any kind of water....fill up cup, dump it out, repeat 10,000 times:)

We love our new pool...

...and our new picnic table! (Thanks Melissa for the great yard sale find!)

Daddy & Allie time:)

Anna sportin' my new hat from Orlando.

Poor Baron. He's gonna hate this picture when he's older!

Ben playing with our new slinkys from Addisyn's bday party. (It took all of 5 seconds for the kids to twist them up beyond recognition.)

Little mamas putting their babies to bed. SO CUTE!

Mother's Day 09 --The six of us met up with my parents and my mom's parents for lunch at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants, China Bistro.

Slinky time again.

Daddy and his Bear bear.

Anna three wheelin' it:)

Daddy digging with the crew.

Benjamin, Baron, Anna and Allie

Anna

Ben

Baron

Allie

Mother's Day 2009

**Random Bonus Pictures**

We went to the mall the other day to walk around and just to see if we could find any good deals at Old Navy. THIS is what we see as we get to the entrance. NO KIDDING...well over 200 people in line for $1.oo flip flops!!! NUTSO! It had to be documented! Are they really THAT great of flip flops? We didn't go in to say the least.

Cletus---the 7 year old, 13 lbs, lazy, hairy, sweet/sassy fuzzball that lives with us. This day I had laundry everywhere and I guess he gave up on a good place to lay. Nothing like a hairy coke to get your day started!:)

Happy Birthday to THE BEST!

I don't want to hijack the thread that Jenny posted yesterday, or steal attention from it, but I can't help but get on here and say Happy Birthday to the most amazing, beautiful, sweet, sexy, smart, funny, God-honoring, Proverbs 31, incredible woman I've ever met!!!!

Jenny, you are the other pea in my pod, the half that completes me, and the hitch in my giddy up! You are my pad-na, and I love you with all of my heart!

Here are a few pics of our life together since we first met EXACTLY 7 years ago today on your 21st birthday. I tried to find some pics of you with each one of the children separately. These pictures bring a smile to my very heart, and I praise God that he brought you into my life! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

One of the very first pictures of us taken together at one of my best friends, Jerrad and Mandy's wedding back in 2002.



This was maybe August of 2002, at my place in Springfield, Illinois.



Fast forward to July, 2006, still B.Q. (Before Quads) in New York City at a company party with my former company.


Later that year, December 2006, and still B.Q., at another company meeting in San Diego. We stepped across the border into Tijuana to see what kind of deals and steals we could find! Who would've guessed how our lives would change just about 2 months later!



August 8, 2007 just hours before we went from a family of 2 to a family of 6!




Jenny and all our babies at the same time for the first time outside the womb at 10 days!



Mommy and her Bear-Bear...


Mommy taking her Bear home!


December 2007, our first Christmas with the QuadSquad!



Jenny and Ben, very early on :)



Jenny and Anna




They were probably about 6 months old here.




Taken after our first Easter, I do believe!




Mommy and Allie being silly :)




Oh, Anna! (and yes, that is indeed what it looks like!)



Mommy and her clone, Ben!



The family, Mother's Day 2009




Mommy and our incredible kids just a couple of weeks ago!


Happy Birthday baby! I love you!!!!!!!!!!

Love Always,
Brian

Now, ya'll make sure to check out her post from yesterday!

Rollin' With My HOMmies:)

What you've all been waiting for.....(this is a long post!)

Q: "So what did you do on your trip"
A: "Um.....well....had fun! No schedules, no poopy diapers, no cooking, no cleaning, no paying bills...just having fun with my quad mommas!:)"

It's so hard to explain the bonds that we all have with each other. I absolutely love these girls and am SO thankful that I was able to go on this trip. So I'll try to just give a little of my take of the trip.:)

After weeks of planning, list making and making arrangements for me to be gone for a few days, Friday finally arrived. It was the FIRST time I had ever spent the night away from my babies! EVER! So of course saying bye bye to them at the airport was so hard. I was so nervous, but I KNEW they were in good hands (daddy, gma and gpa and a couple other friends were all taking turns). Also this was my first time EVER flying anywhere by myself. Yes....27 years old and never have I flown alone:) What can I say...I'm a people person!

After finally getting to Orlando, Gen, Suz and Jenna picked me up at the airport and it was AMAZING how even though this was our first time meeting in person, I felt like we were friends from way back. After running by the condo to drop off my stuff and shake the airport stink off we were ready to hit the town!:)

It was great having Mon as our driver. I think we took the award for most fun, most rowdy and hottest group of moms he's ever driven!:) HAHA.

We all stayed up MUCH later Friday night than most of us usually do. It was just too much fun to go to bed early. And we had NO set schedule (which you know how we are with our schedules....)
So after we all rolled out of bed Saturday morning (some of us earlier than others--Charity and I were the "normal time" risers unfortunately. Our bodies obviously didn't get the memo that we were on vacation) we threw on our swim suits, lathered on the SPF and hit the pool.

Here's the BEAUTIFUL condos we stayed in (thanks SO much to Jac/her fam & Casey for making this possible!)

After doing a lot of nothing but laying around the pool, chatting, reading up on the latest J&K + 8 drama (bleah), and drinking cool beverages, that time of day came....time for 12 women to start getting ready to go out for the evening. Thankfully we had 4 bathrooms!

Makeover Mecca---that was Casey's and my bathroom. These girls are all so beautiful it was fun to play "dress up" with each others stuff:)

Jac and Moni looking super fine:) (FYI if any of you ladies have heard of the Bump It and are curious if it works....IT DOES! Just ask Moni--she's the Queen of the Bump It!)

SO that was our daily "schedule"--get up whenever.....do whatever (mostly just go hang at the pool)....start getting ready in the afternoon....go out to dinner and then find a place to dance and have fun.
We did have great weather Fri-Sun morning. But by Sunday night it was raining--did that stop us? NOPE! (see the above picture!) We cuffed up our jeans and went out splashin'!
That night we hopped around to a few places until we found a little club-ish kinda place that was basically empty but playing good music. Let me just say that WE made that place THE PLACE to be!:) We got to dancing and amazingly the place filled up. We were a sight to see though.....10 moms (some girls had already left) with over 40 kids between us, out on a Sunday night, wearing our Quadmomma shirts. We got asked A LOT of questions (which of course we're used to being stopped by strangers and asked random questions, so this was nothing new).
Monday everyone but Jac, Moni, Nicole and I left. And it started really raining, so we lounged around a bit, ate some food and went to see a girly movie--(mmm...Matthew Mcconaughey:) We figured the husbands wouldn't want to see it anyway ....:)
Tuesday morning (EARLY morning....4:30 am...vulgar hour if you ask me!) I had to be at the airport (Thanks again Jac!). I was so tired from all the fun, sun and lack of sleep, but was WIRED and ready to get home to my husband and babies! I missed them SO much while I was away, but it was definitely a good trip.
I'm so thankful to my husband for really encouraging me to go and for being such a great daddy! He took care of the kids by himself during the weekend and even made it to church!! (getting 4 toddlers fed, dressed and out the door by 8:25 am is a huge feat for 1 person!)
Monday while daddy was working grandma and grandpa did a great job holding down the fort. (Later I was told they went to bed by 7pm that night:)---my kids are tornadoes in child form!:)) And Tuesday morning my good friend Jennifer and her daughter came and played. I can't thank you all enough for letting me get away!
So that's pretty much it! I didn't want to bore you with every little detail and hundreds of pictures so here are a few more pics from the trip!:)
(LOVE YOU GIRLS! and Miss you! Thanks for an awesome time!)

Jenny

P.s. Look out this week for some super mind-blowingly cute kid picture posts!:)

Gen and Suz--love em!

Nicole and Jenna (yes they had quads--disgustingly in shape aren't they?:) nothin' but love for ya girls!)

Misty and Me--bathroom buddies. Yes we worked with the buddy system. Too many mommies to not do it:)

Suz and me.

Eating at the Hard Rock Cafe--our waiter was great. 12 women to wait on = big tip!:)

Sandra---LOVE her despite the fact that she irons EVERYTHING:) haha. Such a southern sweetheart.

Casey gettin' her eyes done by our resident "beautiful eye makeup do-er" Gen.

Me and Charity --my early rising buddy:)

Me and Jac (love ya girl!)

To Tide You Over....

(This Picture is for Moni---WAR EAGLE baby!....eat your heart out. Bama who?:) Love you girl!)


Well...I PROMISE I'm working on a blog about my awesome trip with the amazing quad mommas, but it takes time. This weekend when it's raining, hopefully I can put the finishing touches on it. (Also I'm gonna have to get more creative since some of the girls have stepped up their game--ahem Moni and Jac.......:))

So here are a few pictures of what the kids and I have been doing since I returned. SWIMMING in our super fun baby pool. We're taking every chance we can to get outside. It's ALOT of work to lather everyone up in sunscreen and put them in clean diapers and make sure the pool water isn't freezing and get towels and toys out for the pool and etc etc....but SO worth it don't ya think?:)

Bear bear showing off his guns.

Benner--aka Soak Master B--LOVES to dump water on everyone (especially himself).

Annabananapants showing off her mouth full of chompers! (and her BEAUTIFUL eyes...watch out boys!)

Nutnut's Signature look--SO cute and TOTALLY reminds me of her daddy and grandmama.

Check back this weekend for a FULL update!

Jenny

I've Got All My Sistas With Me!

"What's the first thing you did when you found out you were having 4 babies?"

After the shock wore off, each of us got online and googled "quads." One by one we found each other…THANK GOD WE DID!!

We quad moms have an incredibly special bond. We have spent countless hours chatting with each other online and on the phone. A day does not go by when our in boxes aren't full of funny, frustrating, tear jerking and loving emails addressed to the group. We have seen each other through our pregnancies, NICU stays, health scares and countless moments of triumph and hours of desperation. We have shared our stories, good and bad. We cheer each other on and pick each other up when the going gets tough. We have found strength in numbers and as a group we can solve any problem.

A few months ago Casey and Jac sent out an email that would forever change us all. They were bound and determined to organize the "first annual quad mom get away!" They were not going to take "no" for an answer and were willing to do whatever they could to help each and every one of us make it. Yes, they are that sweet and wonderful!

This past weekend our trip became a reality. We quad mommas, from all over the country, flew into Orlando, FL. We spent the weekend effortlessly bonding and enjoying each others company. Seeing our best friends for the first time in person is one of those things that words cannot describe. Each and every woman was even better in "real life!"

Not every single one of us was able to make the trip, however the turn out was AMAZING! Those of you who missed this year, we can't wait to see your smiling faces next time!

Casey and Jac, THANK YOU SO MUCH for coming up with this idea and for not taking "no" for an answer. It was truly one of the best weekends of our lives and we can't wait for next year!

In the words of sweet Sandra, "I'm so glad I had quads…it gave me all of you!"

In true Quad Momma fashion we took tons of pictures, here are just a few...

Official First Annual QuadMommas 2009 Shirt Front

Official First Annual QuadMommas 2009 Shirt Back

Orlando will NEVER be the same...

Front row (L to R): Jenny Burkett, Moni Graf, Kelly Trullinger, Casey Gerwer, Gen McNulty, Suz Steece, Misty Urech
Back row (L to R): Jenna Walker, Sandra Cochran, Jac Tubre, Charity Donovan, Beth Walker

Not pictured is Nicole Golden who is living in the ice age and does not have a blog...YET...we are working on corrupting her. She was not able to join us until later in the trip (some other ladies were already back home).Thank you to all the husbands, family members and friends who made this trip possible. We could never have done it without you!.

We're Getting SO BIG!

(This toy box was made for me when I was a baby by my grandfather. It's AMAZING that now, 27 years later, MY 4 children are using it. Thank you Papaw! We love you!)

We are 21 months old! I still can not believe my babies are ALMOST 2! WHOA! Right now they change day to day....hour to hour so it seems. Their vocabulary is really starting to take off. And I must say it's stinkin' cute! (Please remind me of this statement when I'm wishing they would just give me a few minutes of no talking....I know the day will come soon enough:))
We're finally all recovered from our ear infections and colds! Only a few more weeks until Grandma is off school for the summer. And I see many trips to the zoo and park in our future! Not too much else to report right now so here are a few pictures and an old video to tide you over:)
Have a Beautiful weekend!

Jenny

Anna Ruth.....yes she's trying to lick the rain from the inside of the glass:)

I can't even think of a caption for this one....it cracks me up looking at it. Oh Allie.

Ben cooking up something good.

You talkin' to me??

W-E-D-G-I-E.

Baron, Benjamin, Allie, Anna

Here's a video of the kids from May 2008. AMAZING to see the difference!:) It's a little long--sorry I don't know how to shorten it.

Baby Luke, March for Babies and the new pool!

Meet my new "nephew" Luke! My best friend, Melanie, had Luke April 15th, Weighing in at 9 lbs 14 oz!! And 2 weeks early, but perfectly healthy! I'm so excited for Brett, Melanie, and big sis Haley! More playmates for the quaddies! yay!

OK so you ask what have we been doing with all our freedom out of the house? Walking for the March of Dimes, playing in our new baby pool and BEING SICK!!! UGH! Yes the kids have been getting over colds for over a week now and the boys are dealing with ear infections. It has been a rough few weeks around here. But thankfully it's nothing serious and we'll be back to normal any day now!
The March of Dimes:Walk for Babies was this past weekend and it was a HUGE success! We had BEAUTIFUL weather and a big turn out. Thanks SOOO much for all that supported us--financially and our team members that walked with us. We could NOT have done it without you! We surpassed our goal of $1000 and that's wonderful! It was a great day, even though the kids were sickly (especially Ben). we didn't know until we got home that he was sporting a pretty high fever. What a trooper!

Poor Benihana!:(

WILD Bear

Allie keeping hydrated for the walk:)

Ben-- even stinkin' cute when he's sick!

Daddy with his girls. LOVE this picture!

I was TRYING to get a group shot before the walk started.....not working out so well.

We were the Ambassadors for our area's Walk for Babies. (Me with Baron, Brian with Allie, Ben with Grandma, and Anna with our friend Melissa)

Brian with the girls again

Baron mid-fit! He was so sleepy. Actually he slept during the whole walk.

Daddy and his Peanut.

Ben-ner looking so cool:)

My sweet girls:) They are such big kids now!

As a little fun surprise for the kids I bought them a new baby pool since we outgrew last years.

Our 2008 baby pool

Our 2009 toddler pool!:) They LOVE it! Thank you Big Lots for having a good sale!

Annabanana and sugabear


Hope every is having a great week!
Jenny

We've Got Our Walkin' Shoes On!

So tomorrow is the BIG DAY! The March of Dimes: March for Babies walk! We're so excited to be this year's ambassadors for our area. It's supposed to be BEAUTIFUL tomorrow! What a great day to be out and supporting this wonderful cause. It's not too late to financially support us this year for the walk. You can donate securely online through the button on the left sidebar. OR you can write a check. If you will be writing a check, email us (click the EMAIL US button on the bottom left side) and we'll let you know more info!

Here's to a FABULOUS walk tomorrow!

Team Burkett Quad Squad

In our walking shoes---well more like riding in a 60 lbs stroller while mommy and daddy (and any of our other friends that want to help) push us for 3 miles! Maybe we'll bring the "leashes" too. They might want to walk a little:)

"Is it time yet?"

Almost---meet us Saturday at Sunrise Park 9am!
We look forward to seeing you there!

Thanks for all who have donated and helped the cause!
Jenny

The Easter Post

Benihana, Peanut, Bear, Punky
Easter 2008

I hope everyone had a GREAT Easter weekend. I know we did! We had a great time with family and friends. My sister left to go back to Germany:(. We are missing her already, but we know God has plenty of work in store for her there! We had a great visit with her. (Later this week I'll add some pictures of our visit with Sarah).

It was a very busy weekend. Friday night Brian and I had a much needed night out while grandma, grandpa and aunt Sarah hung out with the kiddos!
Saturday we went to the Brandenberger triplet's open house. It was fun for the kids and brought back lots of memories. It's amazing how little they were (but actually NOT little--very healthy, happy 2 month olds.) It's just hard to remember how little ours were when looking at them now. They're HUGE!:)
Sunday we were able to worship at church--SO nice to be back after missing it since October for RSV lock down. That evening we had our first Easter egg hunt and then dinner with my parents. They kids had such a fun time egg hunting. It was so cute, and I was truly surprised at how quickly they picked up on it! So smart!
We have a BUSY week ahead as well. We had our usual Monday playgroup today. It's so good for the kids to play with other kids. We're all learning to share--7 kids under the age of 2...you can imagine all the sharing going on:)
Wednesday my best friend Melanie will be delivering her son Luke and we CAN NOT wait! It's been a long road for Melanie and her husband and family but the day is finally here! What a blessing. Join me in praying for a safe and healthy delivery.
We are getting out more and more and it's fun --but man it's a work out for momma! (I have a post coming hopefully later this week with our backpack/leashes that we are working on using. They are so cute!)
Anyway. So on to the pictures right.....:)

Have a great week and check back for more posts/pictures.

Jenny

Baron singing along with a musical book. He's very musically inclined! YAY!

Grandma and her Allie reading--one of their favorite past times.

Anna wearing down after a long Easter Sunday.

Baron and Allie figuring out this whole egg hunt thing.

Allie--remember we can do this with toys too. You know....picking them up and putting them away:) (We're learning how to do this but....they always make a bigger mess than they can pick up!)

This was Ben's pose from beginning to end. He picked up 3 eggs and just walked around cheesin' a big smile:) Too cute!

The Burketts- Allie, Mommy, Anna, Benjamin, Daddy, & Baron

Grandma and Grandpa Haymond with their precious grandchildren.

Yes this is random, but it's one of the BEAUTIFUL flowers that bloom on our front yard bush every year and we have NO idea what kind it is?! Any ideas? Some have said an azalea, but I'm not so sure.

Benjamin striking a very Grumpus-like expression:) It's all about the eyebrow! We sure do miss our Grumpus.

Mommy with her 20 month old quads. 20 MONTHS!! WOW! Almost 2 yrs!

Anna playing in our new tunnel. They love it.

My Nana and Pa (the great grandparents) with the quads. We love you!

Anna, Allie, Ben and Baron in our Easter duds:) (In front of our pretty pink unknown bush)

Ben, Baron, Anna & Allie
Easter 2008

Ben, Baron, Anna & Allie
Easter 2009

Good Bye and Good Riddance to Lock down!!

We're FREE!
Yes we have made it!! I remember back to October dreading how slowly the 7 months of RSV lock down would go, and here we are now! YAY! It's over and boy have we been enjoying it. Thankfully the weather has been great on and off giving us chances to get out with friends and play.
Until now, I never realized (or I might have forgotten) HOW much work 4 almost 2 year olds can be on a HUGE playground!:) I mean I used to teach daycare with kids this age but the playgrounds were always so much smaller. I feel like I need to grow 4 more arms just to keep up. But the kids love it so it's worth all the sweat! Running outside in the sunshine = GOOD NAPS!:)

In other exciting news.......
My sister is in town for 2 weeks from Germany and we are BEYOND excited about that! We had some fun playing with her today and will enjoy ever second we can with her.

A confession.....
**For those of you that may be wondering why it has taken me so long to put up a new post.....I have to admit I spent ALL of my free time last week (even lost sleep) reading the Twilight Series. I read all 4 books (total of 2500 pages) in 4 1/2 days! Yes I'm nuts:) They were great and I had forgotten how much I really liked reading! And how fast I can read if I'm really into the book. I wish I had known about those books when I was on bed rest for 18 weeks. oh well....I'm back in the real world now.:)**


Enjoy the pictures and have a GREAT week!!!

Jenny

Big Bear

My Benny Boo

Allie, Anna and Ben doing some much needed "mulching" HA! They LOVE getting dirty! I can't wait until it warms up enough to just hose them off in the back yard. Is that wrong? HA:)

Reagan, Allie, Ben, Landon, "Aunt" Heather and Baron. We got 6 of our 7 kids out to play the other day. SO FUN!

Anna Ruthie---Such a Cheese monkey!

Allie has turned into SUCH a sweetheart. Giving hugs and kisses all the time to everyone (it's a BIG change from the sassy, biting Allie of the past).

Aunt Sarah and her nieces and nephews today. Look here to see what a difference 9 mos makes!

Allie and Ben playing like the big kids. We went to a cookout with all our friends and the kids had a great time playing. Esp with the "big kid toys".

My best friend Melanie (and soon to arrive baby Luke) with Anna.

Ben LOVES the slides!

Can you even imagine--7! Our new playgroup. I promise they really do have fun--they didn't like our interruption of play for this picture!

Sisters up to NO good:)

Daddy and his "clone" Baron.

I love this picture of them at the playground at church. They are the MOST beautiful kids ever!:)

Top 25(ish) Practical Gifts/Services To Give A New Mom of Multiples

Here is a list of some must-haves for parents of multiples and some of my favorite things. This isn't a complete list but some of these items I would never have thought about buying until I had quads and realized...... "Man, I wish someone would have bought us a huge case of _____ for a shower gift."
These are just MY personal opinions and no I'm not getting paid for this. I have just been asked a few times recently about some items that I couldn't have done without. So here they are.....


Have a GREAT WEEK!!
Jenny

Sam's Club Membership

I love to buy Cheerios and paper towels (among MANY other things) in bulk from Sam's.

Snack Trap

We use these cups multiple times a day for snacks and when on trips they are great for car snacking.

Bottle Formula Mixer

This was the ONLY thing I found that worked for me when I was making 24 bottles a day (some with THICKENED formula). It made the process go SO much quicker and it got rid of the clumps without adding air.

Dreft/ Baby Detergent

Yes we have gone through LOTS of this!

Diapers/Wipes

Gift Certificate for a pedicure etc.

Frozen Booboo cubes

We keep these in the freezer at all times (w/o the bunnies) for when someone falls and busts a lip etc. or when they are getting teeth.

Lansinoh

If you are breastfeeding or pumping, this is KEY! (Since we still have some left from my pumping days we use it as a foot moisturizer on cracked heels. It works great!)

Boppies

We had 1 boppy and it was great. But instead of buying 3 more expensive boppies, we used the pregnancy body pillow I had for the other 3 to eat on. It worked GREAT and I felt like we got our moneys worth out of the body pillow

sleep sacks

We still, at 19 months, use these every night. I guess I'm just a little paranoid to let the kids sleep with blankets all night long so these are the perfect alternative.

Bumbos

The Bumbos were a lot of fun, but we quickly outgrew them.

This is one of my favorite pictures--Baron TOTALLY asleep in his Bumbo. It's a hard-knocked life isn't it?:)

swaddlers

These were ESSENTIAL when our preemies came home. They didn't sleep well without being swaddled in these! Very easy to use also.

PeaPod Plus

I can not say ENOUGH good things about these sleep tents! They have been amazing and give us SO much more room and freedom when traveling!

Booster Seats

Kiddopotamus Bibs

Here's the kids wearing their bibs (love 'em) eating in their seats (love 'em) at Christmas while visiting family.

Rubber Floor mats

These mats have been everywhere with us. When the kids were younger (pre-walking) we would take them on trips so they could stretch out. And everyday they cover our living room floor. They are GREAT!

bath seats

These were nice to use when we wanted to bath all 4 at once, and they were not yet able to sit well in the tub. They have suction cups that hold the chair to the tub.

Quad stroller

We now have the Foundations quad stroller and LOVE it! We, in the beginning, had (borrowed from a friend) the Runabout (see below). It's an AMAZING stroller but we didn't have a way to transport it easily. So the Foundations stroller is a better fit for us.

Here are a few odds and ends that, yes they may sound strange to give, but WILL be used!

Batteries-It's amazing how many batteries you will go through! Every toy seems to take 4!
Paper towels
Baby Tylenol
Food Processor (more $$ but if she's making her own baby food --Well worth the money!)
------ with Ice Cube Trays to freeze baby food
Oxyclean or some other easily used stain remover
Blackout Curtains for the kiddos room
Gift card for printing beautiful pictures of the babies
Your gift of a cooked meal/cleaning services and giving mommy and daddy a few hours away from home = PRICELESS

A few pics from this past weekend.

Sleepy kids/grouchy kids ALL wanting to be on my lap at the same time.

Anna

Baron

Allie

Ben---LONGING to go outside (It's supposed to warm up this week so YAY! We'll be outside!)

Now, Then and Then-Then.

Here's a short walk down memory lane. Happy Friday!!!

March 2009

Anna--our champion climber and Interior decorator
"Mom...please..these couches and lamps are SOO 1989"

Allie--aka "the Boss"
"Come on guys...do I have to do EVERYTHING around here. That goes there....sheesh!"

Ben--future engineer (Go PURDUE!:))

"Almost got it!"

Baron--the B-Baller (do i see a scholarship in his future?:))

"Gotta work on my dunk shot. Dad can I get a lift?"

Storytime

March 2008
So round and so cute

Ben, Baron, Allie and Anna

March 2007
So round already:) hah.

Haircuts, MoD, and the Park

This post is mostly pictures from the last few weeks. But I thought I would give you a quick update on what we've been doing.
The boys got haircuts. Finally! They were getting quite shaggy. We have played at the park a few times this week since the weather has been amazing! It is such a tease this time of year 70*....35*....68*...44*. We are SO SO READY for spring!
This past Saturday we attended a Family Team Kickoff day for the March of Dimes. The kids had a great time and it was nice to meet other supporters of the March of Dimes. If you are interested in how you can help out, please send me an email.
We are nearing the end of the dreaded RSV lock-down. YAY! We can't wait to start going back to church and being out and about. (Although, that just means we have to be prepared for the droves of people staring and the same questions over and over and over again. It's worth it though.)
The quads are 19 months old today. That means they are only 5 MONTHS away from 2! ACK! I Can't Believe It! Where has the time gone? They are such little people now and they crack me up on a daily basis! So Fun!

Playing together---a more common (very cute) occurrence lately.

Anna Banana pants:)

Bear Bear Sugar bear

Allie Gracie booboo

Bennyma-hana

19 months old!

The girls having a splashing good time at the MoD family day. They really really just wanted to get in and swim around. Looks like we will be needing a bigger baby pool this summer.

Daddy and his kids mingling.

Baron being SO big playing some B-ball.

Playing at the park. Do you know how hard it is to keep up with 4 toddlers?!:) Sheesh! At least we were the only ones there!

Anna feeling a lil froggie.

Watching for daddy to get home!

Allie and Regan V. having a lil girl time.

Heather V. and I trying to keep an eye on all our kids (6 under the age of 3)!

Allie following Landon V. EVERYWHERE. I think he likes her--he kept asking for hugs from her. So cute.

Anna

Baron was Lovin the swings....

and so was Ben.

Anna doing a little after dinner reading.

Allie and Pa. (Great-grandpa. He's her namesake. Allie Clayton W.)

Anna wearing one of mommy's headbands-beautiful.

Baron not feeling so great:( Thankfully it was just a 24 hr bug!

Ben....doing his best Hasselhoff impersonation:). HA!

"I'm six foot four, an All-American guy, and handsome and talented as well" --the Hoff:)

Ben was SO good during his haircut. He was zoned out....I think he liked having his hair messed with.

Baron was a little more active but still did a great job. He has so much curly hair to cut!

Aunt Sarah with the kids last July. This was a few weeks before she moved to Germany. We miss her and can't wait to see her in a few weeks. She'll be visiting for 2 weeks!! YAY!


Have a GREAT week!

Jenny

Team Burkett Quadsquad

Some of you may know that we are the Ambassador family for the area March for Babies walk. I just wanted to show you how much March of Dimes has done for our family. Without their research and support, our 4 miracles may not have had such favorable outcomes.
I am asking all our friends, family and blogger buddies to consider supporting the March of Dimes. We'd love for you to join our team for the walk. It will be a great day! (As a team member you can help us push our 60 lb stroller with our 100 lbs of children in it!HA!:)
There's no pressure to donate, but just know that your money is going to a great cause and is VERY MUCH appreciated! Any dollar amount is welcome! To find out more information about where your money goes click here. (If you donate $10 or more you are automatically listed as a walker on our team even if you are not able to be at the walk.)

You can check out my page and our team page for info. Also feel free to email us with any questions (our email button is to the right).

We are having a Family Kickoff day March 7th from 2p-4p @ Christian Fellowship Church here in Evansville. There will fun activities for the kids! Email if more info is needed.

The Evansville March for Babies will be Sat. April 25th. Check-in begins @ 9am and the walk begins @ 10am. It's a 3 mile walk, but there is a shorted 1 mile version if you aren't able to do the 3 miles.

Thanks so much in advance for you support!!

Jenny, Brian and the quadsquad

Benjamin 8/8/07
Birth weight/length 3 lbs 4.5 oz, 15.5 in

Benjamin today.

Baron 8/8/07
birth weight/height 3 lbs 2 oz, 16.5 in

Baron today.

Anna 8/8/07
birth weight/height 3 lbs 5 oz, 16 in

Anna today.

Allie 8/8/07
birth weight/height 2 lbs 12 oz, 15.75 in

Allie today.

Benjamin, Anna, Allie and Baron @ 9 weeks old on their due date!

The Burkett Quadsquad @ 18.5 months

2 years ago today...

...we found out we were having quadruplets!!! I can't believe it's been that long already. I was about 7 weeks along when we had this ultrasound done. I knew I was probably having 2 because I was SO SO SO sick and was starting to show a little. But we NEVER expected 4 babies! After we found out the news we went to Chick-fil-a and just sat there for like 2 hrs talking about it and basically staring at each other in disbelief. Then we started making the phone calls. Talk about some crazy conversations! (you other quad moms know what I'm talking about!)
Fast forward to the present. 18month old quadruplets! They just had their checkup and everyone is doing great! We have had some health issues come up lately though. See below.

Benjamin
Weighing in @ 26 lbs 9 oz and 31 1/4 in

Baron
Weighing in @ 24 lbs 4 oz and 31 in
(We had to take Baron to the ER over the weekend. He stopped breathing. To make a long story short. He's fine and the doctors think it was a breath holding spell. A very common thing so I'm told. It was VERY scary. But all is well now.)

Allie
Weighing in @ 21 lbs 3 oz and 31 1/2 in (such a little thing!:))

Anna
Weighing in @ 23 lbs 3 oz and 32 1/2 in (She also has seen the doctor lately. She has been diagnosed with grade 2/3 Vesicoureteral Reflux in both kidneys. Basically this means urine is not fully leaving the body and some is backing up into the kidneys putting her at risk for frequent infections. Therefore she's is now on a daily antibiotic for the next year when we'll retest and see if she's outgrown it yet like most kids do. Please pray this goes away quickly and that none of the others have it.)

Other fun things the kids have started doing lately....eating with spoons (YAY! mommy can't WAIT for this skill to be perfected!), talking more everyday, undressing selves, reaching the door knobs (EEK!), playing imaginatively with each other, READING READING READING, bringing their cups to me when they need more.
Some things we'll be working on this spring and summer....more talking and reading, playing with all our friends, potty training (if interest is there), learning to pick up after ourselves, coloring and fun artsy things, just having fun knowing we won't have to be on "lock down" ever again!

Hanging out waiting for the doctor to come in and see us. We're SO excited to be done with shots until kindergarten!! YAY!

Anna and me before her kidney tests. The poor baby didn't know what was coming.

Daddy with his sweet baby Anna after her VCUG (a test to check the kidneys). She was a sad sight.

Allie being such a good girl and sharing her Cheerios, although sharing with the dog isn't exactly what I had in mind.

Do you think she (Allie) might have a good future in plumbing?:)

"Hey ladies, how YOU doin...leaving so soon?;)" Baron

So, yes we've had some crazy times in the last week, but I wouldn't change any of it! The last 2 years have been a RoLlEr CoAsTeR for sure. Never a dull moment!:)

Have a great weekend!!
Jenny


P.S. For those of you that are curious here are a couple of belly shots. Ah...memories:)

9 weeks

31 weeks (just a day before delivery)