And another thing!

Okay, I feel like the "one more" bandit. My mom brought over her camera and I got the video figured out, plus a little extra. Hope this will hold "yall" over!

Pucker up, Buttercup! And P.S. my daddy rocks

This picture is in memory of Mookie the Tubre cat. Our cat's name is Ted, but she usually just gets called "kitty-cat". She's cool with that. She never did understand why she got a boy's name. Little did she know that her owners were too stupid to be able to tell the difference between male/female cat genitalia at such an early age. Also pictured....Danna's slippered feet. Our friends from Germany, Tina and Maik, sent handmade slippers for the babies. They're awesome because they tie on and don't kick off (and they're so cute)!

Whomever invented sunglasses for babies should be shot. What a moronic genius. They're too cute to pass up, but completely useless!

As Promised...

Here are a few pics of the kidlets. They're getting HUGE!

Baby Central...with a little Aunt Lainie mixed in

Gap babies.... Laineman, Frosty, Big Poppa and the Banana

Laine is diape(red), Pius is inspi(red), Danna is ado(red) and Forrest is admi(red)

Clockwise from bottom...Forrest, Laine, Pius and Danna

Frosty's new favorite past-time. It's a built-right-in pacifier!

Man, it's bright in here! Too bad the velcro straps are still too big for their heads. I know, I know, even Pius and Forrest's fat heads aren't quite big enough.

Typical smiling Forrest

Pius in his favorite play spot

Danna found her inner princess. Now we can't get her off the throne.

Laine sticking his tongue out at the camera

As a side note, I think this diape(red) onesie is jinxed. I doesn't matter who wears it, but it always ends up in the wash with poop on it. It attracts blow-outs....no crap.

Have a great, rain-drenched, thunder and lightening-filled, windy Kansas day! I LOVE this weather!

Okay, so I guess the entire video got cut out. It was a lot longer on my mom's camera. I wondered why it uploaded so quickly! I'll see if I can figure it out and re-post it. That might take awhile, knowing me.

5-Months Old and Counting...

Our little guys just hit the big 5-month mark, and they got to celebrate with a trip to the doctor for their final RSV shot of the season. They weren't very happy about the shot, but they really like Dr. Chavez until that part of their visits. Dr. Chavez had a lot of great things to say about each of them, but he did say one thing that we weren't expecting or wanting to hear. He said that RSV season is almost completely over, but the flu season still had some life to it. We have to wait one more month before we can lift the age and flu shot rules. As disappointed as some of you are, trust us when we say that we are moreso. We were really looking forward to breaking out of our little bubble here at home. We had planned on taking them down to the Riverfest for lunches, introducing them to the rest of their families, and having a party at Grandpa Stubby and Grandma Vicki's house. We just figure that now the party can be a pool party though. We hope that everyone understands.

As for each one of our posse, here goes:

Pius continues to do very well with the weight gain. He is now up to 15 pounds, 3 ounces. He is 24 and 1/2 inches long (or half as tall as Godfather Ryno). He won the "best baby" award for around two weeks running, but in the last week has returned to his grumpy ways. Moni and I think that he has some acid reflux issues, but the doctor hasn't put him on any medication yet. (No, we are not already making excuses for our children, he really does spit up after each feed and acts uncomfortable.) We also think that Pius might have learned the "fake cough." He has "coughed" after Forrest's sneezes, and after Laine's hiccups. It is so funny to see because he will be looking at us while we are talking to a different baby about their issues (hiccups and sneezes), and he will stick his tongue out and give a really fake-sounding cough. It is so cute and we turn attention back to him. Last week, while Moni was giving him a bath, he found his boy stuff. He seems to be intrigued by it, because ever since then, we have had to move his hands during his changing time. I guess it starts young for my boys.

Forrest is keeping up with Pius on the pounds. He is 15 pounds, 3 ounces just like Pius. He isn't quite as long, only 24 inches, but he weighs the same. They are both taking in 180 mL (6 oz) at each feed, but Forrest usually keeps all of his down. Forrest has continued to be a great baby (when he is being held). He has taken on the "spoiled rotten" title. He will just sit and smile and talk to whoever is holding him, but the second that person puts him down he will scream. He loves to be held and played with, and that leads us to think that he is going to be our social butterfly. He especially loves the ladies. If a female comes over, he grins and flirts with her the entire time. He has already sucked a couple of our female helpers into holding him ALL NIGHT. He does seem to be the most interactive, though, so no one complains too much. He's developed a nasty little habit of screaming until his nose and mouth turns blue. Dr Chavez said it's breath-holding spells. If you can stand the few minutes of blood-curdling crying, he usually finds his thumb to pacify himself and will pass out from exhaustion. What a little turd.

Danna got a great review from the doc. She is up to 9 pounds, 6 ounces, and 20 and 1/2 inches long. Her height is doing "very well" on the growth chart and her weight is doing "okay. " She got bumped down to the 21-calorie food with the boys. It is so funny to look at her because she has a full-sized torso, but her legs and arms look like little twigs protruding from it. She has been our easiest one to handle, behavior-wise, of the four. She really is the lowest maintenance of all of them. I stand by my assessment that she is like a kitty-cat. You have to EARN her affection. She won't be mean to anyone, she will just be indifferent. She finally trusts her mom and dad, but she still looks at both of us like we are "SOOO DUMB." We will be talking to her and we will do something that she thinks is funny, but she will look to the side to grin. She won't let us see that we made her smile. She continues to be our princess.

Laine is slowly catching up to "The Towers". He is up to 12 pounds even, and 22 and 3/4 inches long. He is still amazed with Daddy's singing abilities and this is the only way that I can get him to be quiet and happy during the evenings. He challenges Forrest for "spoiled rotten" award, but we can still usually figure out a way (without picking him up) to calm him down. The easiest way for Daddy is to sing and make faces, the easiest way for Mommy is just to talk to him. There must be something about a mother's voice. Laine seems to be the moodiest of the four, to me. Tonight, he went from: Happy to see me when I got home from work, to pissed off at the world, to Daddy is the best singer in the world, to I HATE DADDY, to Daddy is a pretty cool guy, to I HATE DADDY AGAIN, to asleep, to thank goodness Grandpa Stubby came over and fed me, all in a matter of about four hours. His mood swings are incredible.

They continue to sleep for 7-10 hours a night and we are so thankful. They have slept through toilets flushing, whatever sporting event Daddy is watching (and yelling about), new visitors at bedtime hours of the evening, even vaccuming. All of our "night helpers" can vouch for the fact that the Graf house never falls silent. We know that when they get mobile and when they "learn Engish", things will change. We are taking advantage of the situation for now, though. Moni and I are still on the same page and are getting along great. We thank God daily for our wonderful family and friends (who have made sanity possible), each other, and our wonderful, healthy kids.

Pictures to follow soon (another miscommunication with the camera)...

B,M,P,F,D,L

P.S. Happy belated birthday to Grandma Vicki last Wednesday. Cousin Steph Graf and friend Michelle Jahn were gracious enough to come over and watch the babies for us that evening so we could go to dinner to celebrate. They got a little taste of the "fussy time" in the evenings, but were still in good spirits when we got home. I had to check the liquor cabinet after they left. Just kidding! Thanks again, guys!

P.S.S. Big thank you to the Bishop Carroll seniors and Mrs. Ramsey for picking up a few service hours by cleaning up our yard! They raked out our HUGE garden and yard, cut the pampas grass and even brought over some flowers to plant in our pots. They accomplished what would have taken us a good 2 weeks to finish in about an hour and a half. Thank you SO much!

A little of this, a little of that

Just wanted to write a note to keep the faithful bloggers updated. All systems go and smooth sailing continues here at the Graf household. The babes are starting to gear up for the Broncos training camp and, thanks to the 81 Speedway crew, are appropriately dressed. This is one of the few times Daddy Graf will allow Mommy Graf to dress the kids in anything even remotely similar. Well.... game days and maybe SOME holidays. Mommy Graf says that things are looking good when we manage to get them dressed at all.

Pius, Forrest, Danna and Laine in their Sunday best

TIMBER!!! Sometimes Pius has problems with his cheeks throwing him off-balance

The Bronco Boys

"No, I am NOT a boy!" Her pink Broncos outfits were still a little too roomy. We didn't want to show any cleavage.

Our evening routine seems to be working some sort of magic. I know Bucko would agree with us, despite how much she loaths "quiet time". About 15 minutes before the last bottle of the day, we turn the lights down, turn off/mute the T.V. (if there's a game on) , turn on the Baby Einstein music CD and try to refrain from too much talking (this is where Bucko has the issues). We get them ready for bed (change diapers, put them in their "sleep sacks" because they kick out of blankets, have some last minute smiles and cooing and say our prayers) and give them their bottles. Then, the magic begins..... They have been sleeping anywhere from about 7 to 9 hours until their morning feeds! And what's better is that after their 1st a.m. feed, they go back to sleep for another 1 1/2 to 3 hours. Life's good. Now if only mom would learn to go to bed when the babies do....but alas, there are posts to be written. Especially since the Tubres last Dance Video was released. They have some really sweet moves, those kids.

Since we're on the subject of beds, the babies' cribs are now complete. I had bought material for the crib skirts and bumpers way back in Phoenix. As it turns out, I didn't have as much spare time as I thought I would and hadn't even started THINKING about sewing them. My Aunt Cathy (Becky's mom) came to the rescue. Not only did she turn out some beautiful bedskirts and bumpers.... they were EXACTLY what I had in mind. I can't thank her enough! The quads would've been in college before I ever sat down to do them. We kind of have a dark denim/Americana-esque theme in the babies' room. You can't really tell from the pictures below. I'll try to get a better picture of the bedding when the kids aren't sleeping in them. Aunt Cathy is also our Tuesday afternoon bath-giver and all-around helper. She knows all too well the lethal accuracy of Forrest "the sniper" Graf. I hope he's half as talented with a basketball.

Pius and Laine being mesmerized by the psychadelic mobile that Michelle Jahn brought over

I think Laine's hypnotized. Pius wouldn't fall into the trap that easily.

In other news, Billy took a sucker-punch to the left eye the other day at work. No, not at the Oasis... at QT. He has a black eye, but you should see the Coke can that hit him.

I got my "hairs" cut last Monday by our friend, Terri Peterson. Yes, the "mommy chop" was long over-due. Maybe one of these days I'll do my hair and make-up and take a picture to show you all. But by the time all that happens, it will probably have grown back!

Danna has a 5-month doctor appointment this Thursday, and the boys will tag along to get their last RSV shot of the season. It'll be interesting to see what the little toads weigh now. We'll let you all know.

Danna wanted a victory beer after KU's big win, but the most dad would allow was a sniff

Gampa Stubby with Pius (cheering for KU)

When Forrest starts telling us a "whale tale", we'll know were he got it. Okay, that caption comment was totally stupid, but I couldn't think of anything else.

That's about all that's new in our neck of the woods. Let us know what's going on in your lives. We'd love to hear from anyone who reads our blog!

Love,

Billy, Monica, etc, etc, etc, etc


P.S. Are your taxes done, yet? My sister, Emily, just got finished with ours. All I can say is, "Thank God for our little tax deductions!" Woo-Hoo! We're going to the Sizzler, baby!

Sorry for the wait!

Hi everybody. We decided to take things into our own hands and we are doing this post. That's right everybody, it is THE Graf Quads. Pius, Forrest, Danna, and Laine here to update everyone on what is going on with us. We decided that our parents are too busy, so we would do the update ourselves. We are each going to type our own personal update about what is happening with us. Since Pius is the biggest he gets to go first...none of us other three are brave enough to challenge him.

Hello everybody I am Pius James Graf. I am the biggest, and I think, toughest of the Quad Squad. I basically get everything I want because I cry the most. Yea, I know how to be a sweet boy, and I have taken the daily title of "Best Baby" a couple of times in the past few weeks, but I really am good at getting what I want. One of these days, Mom and Dad will figure out how to time my feeds so it is ready when I am ready, but they are still trying to figure it out (if you haven't figured it out already, they aren't the brightest crayons in the box). They are always too early or too late. I have figured out that some things take them awhile so, for the most part, I am getting better with having patience. I like to see how many diapers and outfits I can destroy every day. Mommy even had to use some rubber gloves from work to clean out one of the outfits I soiled the other day. I also enjoy getting up early with Daddy and playing video games with him. At least two or three times a week, I will wake up an hour after my early morning feed so I can go hang out with the old man. Today, my developmental evaluater ladies said I am right on schedule for my adjusted age, which is 2-3 months. I can do some things better than that, but Mommy told me that you all know that sometimes I get a little bit lazy. Really, I think my cheeks are just so big that they weigh my head down and I really have to work to lift it up. Well, that's about all that is new for me, so I will turn it over to my buddy, Frosty.

Hi. My name is Forrest...Forrest Graf. People call me Forrest Graf. Mommy and Daddy tell me all the time how nice I am and how cute I am. My Great-Uncle Jim told me that sometimes it is really hard for us good looking people to wait for the next day because I, like Uncle Slammer, get better looking everyday. It really is exciting to wake up and find out how gorgeous I have become. I'm not quite as tall as Big Poppa, but I am just as heavy, by golly. My Uncle Ryno is teaching me how to be tough so I can handle the taller guys. My favorite part of the day is right when Mommy or Daddy get me out of bed. I just grin at them and they get all excited about it. It's pretty funny watching them because they really think that they are making me grin, but actually I am just tired of laying in bed and I probably just farted, too. Today my evaluator ladies said that I am right on schedule for my adjusted age too, which is 2-3 months. That's it for me, so I will give the computer to the Princess Danna Banana.

Danna Lynn Graf here and I am going to tell you about me now....AND YOU WILL LISTEN. My Mommy and Daddy are starting to learn, finally, that I am running the show. I am now, 8 1/2 pounds of firecracker and I say when and what people at our house are going to be doing. Wednesday, I decided that I would remind them who the boss was. I really scared both of them, but I knew I was fine the whole time. I spit up a little (maybe a lot), and accidentally swallowed it down my nose and mouth. I made a really weird sound, and Daddy heard me. Daddy turned on the monitor (I don't know why it wasn't on already, I am a princess for goodness' sake) and I yelped again. I think Daddy made it back to our room in record time. When Daddy found me, I was trying to get all of the spit up out of my nose and mouth, but I couldn't. I was really red, and I even scared myself a little bit. I couldn't breathe so Daddy woke up Mommy (who had been working the night before) to help me out. I was even able to scare Mommy, but she sucked out my nose and mouth and I was finally able to let out a whimper to let them know I was breathing and they didn't need to start CPR. They took me to see Dr. Chavez because Mommy was scared and Daddy says that he has been to 2 worlds fairs, a mule skinning, and a skunk party and never seen anything like all that. Dr. Chavez told them that I would be fine and I probably was just choking on my spit-up. I'll try not to do it again, but if I feel the urge, they may have to check me for seizures by doing an EEG. That requires putting a bunch of sticky things all over my head to monitor me, and I can't let my brothers see me looking like a goof-ball. So despite all the attention I got, I MUST put beauty above all else, so I guess I'll behave....for now. Now I feel great, and I had Daddy fawning all over me today. My plan worked to perfection. The evaluator ladies said that I am right on my adjusted schedule too. Here is the Lainer to tell you all about him.

My name is Laine Ryan Graf and unlike my big brothers and sister I will speak to you on a more adult level. The evaluator ladies told Mother and Father that I am at a 4-5 month age range. Next week I will am planning a lecture on nuclear fission at Bishop Carroll if any of you are interested. I have been doing very well and continue to impress the ladies. Whenever any female comes over, my imbecile big brothers try to smile, and goo, and gah at them, but when I sit down with one of the ladies and have a mature conversation, they melt in my hands. Not only am I gorgeous, but I am so very intelligent. One of my favorite things is when Father sings to us. He really thinks he sounds talented, but I just laugh at him the entire time. I mean, really....him trying to emulate the masterful voices of Mr. Johnny Cash and Mr. Garth Brooks is like the sound you'd produce by trying to neuter a cat (I was reading the Murray Quads blog and thought that line was rather humorous...www.murraycrew.blogspot.com). He sounds like my new pony jumper toy that I got (which, by the way, has an intriguing artwork side panel that I can look at and study for at least 30 minutes - see the above picture). That really is all that is new with me. Uh-oh, Mommy and Daddy just caught us so they are now running the show.

Billy and Moni here....We are so sorry that you had to listen to those little turds rant on. When we told them that since they were so smart that they had to start pulling their weight and pay some bills, they turned into regular 4 1/2 month olds again. As far as the age comparison, those are all their adjusted age ranges. Since our kids were supposed to be born on January 21st, their adjusted age is 2 1/2 months. They are all doing very well. As far as the boys, the only one who is not on the growth chart seems to be the farthest along developmentally. Danna is keeping up perfectly with her brothers developmentally and she really does run the show. The kids are getting so excited for when they finally get to meet everybody. Dr. Chavez says that it will probably be early May before we can lift the flu shot and age sanction, so as soon as he gives us the okay we will let everyone know.

A gigantic THANK YOU to Aunts Renee and Paula for the baby shower (and for everyone who showed up and sent things). We now have so much stuff and we know it will all come in so helpful sooner, rather than later. Everything that we forgot about asking for was given to us. We continue to be amazed at the genorisity of all of our family, friends, and even strangers. We, like the Tubres, haven't had to buy a single diaper yet and we know how expensive (and, with Pius, how time consuming) that could be. We can not figure out how we would be able to do it without all of you, and we are SO thankful for each of you.

We're going to turn the computer back over to the kids now. They really wanted to compose the picture comments this time, too.

This is one of mom catching us boys scheming to take over the computer. We had a good plan of attack on Easter, but had to wait a few days to set it in motion.

Pius: This is what happened when Forrest mentioned that he wanted to type first. I've been taking lessons from those Tubre boys. They have nice right hooks.

Laine: Danna, Forrest and I were enjoying some quiet time while "Cry-us"... I mean, Pius, was in the other room getting yet ANOTHER outfit change.

This is a picture of Mommy with Aunt Mollie and Aunt Ray-Ray. They were enjoying some baby-free time while watching the KU/Davidson game. Rock Chalk, baby. Aren't our aunts hot?!

Danna: I really like my feather tiara, even if it is almost as big as me!

I guess the shirt says it all.

I guess this shirt says it all, too!

Danna: I wasn't quite ready for my close-up. I wish mom would start warning me before she shoots. At least I would've spit out the sucky thing! (I do so love my sucky thing).

Laine: Bow to my intellectual prowess!!!

Ha, ha....Just kidding! I'm not one of those snobby smarty-pants.

We love you all so much, and we will try to build a 25th hour into the day so that we can post more often.

B,M,P,F,D,L