You know it's time for summer vacation when...

one of your toddler's first sentences is, "Foggy's coming!" (with a very worried expression to go along with it)

How sad that this is meteorlogically correct in the middle of June. Ah, home sweet Daly City!

Don't worry, Bridget. We'll be in Tahoe soon enough!

Our dirty laundry..

After five loads of laundry today, I thought I was done. It never ends!

You be the judge...

We've been going back and forth about whether we should shell out $160 for a mail-order DNA test to determine whether the twins are identical or fraternal. Tell us what you think first by responding in the poll to the right! Here are a couple of recent shots from this month to help you out:

Annie (left) and Tessa:

Annie (left) and Tessa:

Tessa (left) and Annie:

Tessa (left) and Annie:

(For those interested in the science behind this: I never realized until I was pregnant with these two that identical twins can have their own placenta and amniotic sacs. Tessa and Annie each had their own sac and placenta, but could still be identical if they split early enough. The probability of them being identical is about 1 in 9. And, the only way to know for sure is with this DNA test - we take a little sample of their DNA using a cheek swab, send it back to the company and wait for the results.)

Two Little Mommies

At Matt's insistence, we stole away from Father's Day brunch for a moment to got another shot of all four girls:

Actually, he didn't so much as insist as resist the whole endeavor. He'll thank me when they're all out of the house and we have a few pictures filling our empty nest.

Notice each "big girl" is holding her respective baby - Megan's baby is Annie and Bridget's baby is Tessa, and we better not forget it!

To a Wonderful Daddy...

Happy Father's Day, Matt!

11 Grandchildren and Counting

When Jen and Brian deliver baby #3 in August, there will be 12 Stecher grandchildren! It's mayhem every time we all get together, but Grandma and Grandpa don't seem to mind. This picture is a rare one with all of the kids, including East Coast Jack and Abby!

Mop and Pop have half as many. Uncle Kyle needs to start contributing. On second thought...

3 Months Old!

We officially survived three months of this craziness! At least one of them (Annie) is smiling in this picture!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those who made this milestone possible. Introducing - my best friends/lifesavers/baby products I could not live without!

- Graco Snuglider - how do I love thee? Let me count the ways .... Okay, this thing is seriously the best invention ever. And, I'm not just saying that because Matt and I officially invented it before Graco did, back when Megan was born. Anyhoo, this serves as a third swing in our house, with the baby swaddled up and sitting on top of her cozy BundleMe in her car seat. And, whenever I plan to leave the house, I can buckle the fussier baby in there first, get her swinging, and she's fast sleep and ready to go by the time we actually need to get in the car. It also has a vibrating feature, as well as music. And, a s abonus, it's a great place to store the car seat, so it saves on space. Love it!

- Our DVR - chock-full as it is with every Noggin show you can think of, specifically Oswald and Little Bear, current favorites in our house. And, more importantly, it's full of shows I can watch while I'm endlessly nursing. I can watch families that are crazier than ours, most recently anything involving sextuplets!

- my sling, a Kangaroo Korner one I picked up at the SF Parents of Multiples sale for $10! I use this every day, even when I'm inside the house, just to have my hands free. It even fit both babies once upon a time:

It's always in my diaper bag so I can use it to soothe a fussy baby who just doesn't want to be in their car seat. Plus, when I have a baby in there, I guess it doesn't really look like it, so I don't get quite as many weird looks or comments - 3 kids 3 and under is way more socially acceptable than 4, I've learned.

- my stroller, a Kolcraft Contours Tandem Options, which I love, and can not say enough good things about! (Kolcraft, are you listening/reading?) We purchased this stroller before Bridget was born, and it keeps on strollin'. We use it right now as a double "snap n' go" since it holds both babies' car seats, and it will last until the babies completely outgrow riding in a stroller. Oddly, but fortuitously, this stoller has cute little handles on either side that Megan and Bridget hang on to when we're out running around. I don't know how long they will willingly hang on to these handles - they even fight about which side is their's! - but it makes my life all that much easier at the moment. And, if I carry one baby in the sling, my BFF mentioned above, it frees a seat for little Bridget, who by all rights should still be allowed to sit in a stroller when she wants to :) Of course, that leaves Megan without a seat, so we recently purchased a little buggy board for the front of the stroller, which is like a little skateboard that she can stand on next to me. Everyone's happy, right? Or, did you forget that part about me carrying one baby, and pushing three? Oh well.

Thanks, Uncle Kyle!

Thanks Kyle for being such a great helper/extra set of hands/extra set of shoulders/buyer of candy/super fun uncle! These pictures speak for themselves. Kyle is responsible for the lollipops and the blue face that Bridget had for the rest of the day.

I'm not sure what's more scary - the genuine fear on the girls' face that I captured while sitting in front of them on Pinocchio, or Bridget's mess.

The Happiest Place on Earth

I'm proud to report that a trip to Disneyland with four little ones is not only possible, but very enjoyable! However, I recommend the following:

- bring an eager set of grandparents;

- make sure you have the right stroller/sling/baby carrier combination to ensure kid seating options for every scenario;

- avoid the princess store that preys on little girls after they exit "It's a Small World" - dangerous territory!

- go after nap time!

- don't forget to bring an Uncle Kyle with you - don't have one of those? I'm sure ours will consider accepting a nominal fee for his child wrangling skills. Book in advance!

One of the best outcomes from our trip down south - we now have a few more family pictures! My standards for capturing all six of us are pretty low. It's definitely easier to keep a happy baby in a car seat or a sling sometimes, as you can see below!





And, me with the babies - maybe the first of these since they were born. That's just sad.





One of the worst outcomes: Megan now complains daily, "Why did I have to be 2 at Disneyland? Because I'm not - I'm 3!!" Oops! I guess we can't get away with getting her in for free next time!


Our adentures in the OC continued with a trip to Laguna Beach the next day, where the girls had a great time!

Megan had more fun with the girls' new set of princesses than she did in the water:

And, Bridget enjoyed more ice cream:

Annie experienced sand in between her toes for the first time!

(Tessa slept - my favorite beach activity!)

Thanks Mop and Pop for a wonderful trip!!

A Hug!

If a smile is blogworthy (is that a word?), than a hug is, too. Especially when it comes unexpectedly from Megan, not the most affectionate kid in our family. For you to fully appreciate this sweet hug, I feel the need to set the scene a little. Welcome to my morning a few days ago:

I decided, ambitiously, to head out to West Portal Playground to meet Sara, Melissa and Sabrina for a playdate. At the beginning of the day, I naively thought I'd actually get there before everyone else so the kids could play longer at the park. Ha! I got there a half hour late, and I was exhausted from the morning's events. In the span of a few hours, I:

-gave Tessa and Annie a bath (a more regular activity now!);

-wiped up the gallons of water that my "helper"Bridget dumped on the floor in between the cupfuls she washed each babies' feet with;

-dressed and nursed two screaming babies;

-placed each baby in a swing in a failed attempt t get a small nap in before we left;

-barely survived another torturous breakfast with my two anorexic daughters who like to do everything but eat at the table. (These activities include, but are not limited to: "playing the piano" on the kitchen table, spilling juice as often as possible, fighting over the Ariel fork, asking for items that they end up not wanting after all, tickling each other, and suddenly deciding to take a break to use the bathroom. Throw in a couple time outs, and me yelling, "Eat! Right Now!" often enough for that to be a common phrase in Megan's dialogue with her dolls, and you get the picture.)

-cleaned up after tortorous breakfast;

-followed Megan and Bridget into the bathroom, while nursing Annie, to wait for Bridget to poop in her potty (is it too late to warn you of the graphic nature of this post?). I'l spare you the details, but the poop ended up everywhere but the potty, and I ended up cleaning the floor, and changing my pants. I guess I didn't really spare you that much. Suffice to say, Bridget is intent on potty training herself right now, a task I'm not quite prepared to undertake, but am going along with;

-gave a Pocahontas Pez to each girl. When Bridget gets one for using the potty, Megan gets one too;

-listened to two babies cry while I hurriedly dressed two very picky dressers;

-packed the diaper bag;

-packed a somehwat passable lunch for the park;

-ran a load of laundry;

-finally dressed myself;

-sat down on the floor in our bedroom to put my shoes on, and must have audibly sighed, because Megan came over and gave me a big hug and kiss on the cheek, totally unsolicited!

I'm pretty sure that has never happened before! I must have really looked like I needed a hug!

A Smile!

We finally have a smile on camera from one of the babies. It's Annie!

And, some more shots of both girls. Tessa's the unhappy one - not a big surprise - we see that face a lot around here.

We all scream for ice cream!

On Sunday, we drove up to Yuba City to celebrate Lily Miller's 2nd birthday. While the kids devoured their ice cream cones, I took the opportunity to get some cute shots of four (of six!) cousins. The more we add the harder this is :)

These cool city kids were meant to live in the heat. They soaked up the sun and swam in the kiddie pool, and got a little taste of what summer should feel like before we headed back to the fog - ugh!